[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 175 (Monday, November 14, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6658-S6659]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VETERANS DAY
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, our Nation recently celebrated Veterans
Day, one of the most sacred days on our national calendar. Across the
land, grateful Americans paid tribute to the brave men and women who
have defended our freedom throughout our history.
Today, nearly 20 million Americans hold the title of veteran. That
includes almost 110,000 men and women in my State of Maine, one of the
highest percentages in the country. It is estimated that some 48
million patriots have served in uniform since our Nation's founding.
Among them is a very special group of more than 3,500 heroes who have
received the Medal of Honor, the highest award for valor in action.
Although more than 160 years have passed since the medal's inception,
its foundation of courage and sacrifice have remained constant.
More than 100 Mainers have earned the Medal of Honor. In observation
of Memorial Day last May, Emily Burnham of the ``Bangor Daily News''
authored a fascinating story profiling four of them. I am delighted to
insert her inspiring story into the Congressional Record and to recap
briefly the heroism she described.
Early in the Civil War, fisherman Andrew Tozier enlisted in the 2nd
Maine Infantry. He was wounded at the Battle of Gaines Mill in Virginia
and captured. After being released by the Confederates, he joined the
20th Maine Infantry Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Joshua
Chamberlain.
At Gettysburg, he was the Regiment's color bearer. During the
decisive stand Chamberlain led at Little Round Top, Sergeant Tozier
stood at the center of the regiment with the regimental flag tucked in
his right elbow while he used the rifle of a wounded member of the
color guard to return fire on the attacking Confederates in defense of
his comrades.
After the war, Mr. Tozier was adrift and fell into a life of crime,
stealing cattle and other property. When he was arrested, Chamberlain,
then Governor of Maine, took Mr. Tozier and his wife into his home and
helped him turn his life around. In addition, Gov. Chamberlain, a Medal
of Honor recipient himself, recommended Andew Tozier for the medal for
his bravery at Little Round Top. Veterans helping fellow veterans
remains an American tradition.
Before World War II, Edward Dahlgren worked as a seed potato
inspector in Maine's Aroostook County. He enlisted in the Army in 1943
and served with the 36th Infantry Division. On February 11, 1945, in
France, Sergeant Dahlgren led the rescue of a unit surrounded by German
forces, repeatedly attacking enemy positions alone and capturing nearly
40 prisoners. His Medal of Honor citation credits his ``bold leadership
and magnificent courage'' for repulsing an enemy attack and saving an
American platoon from great danger.
Charles Loring of Portland distinguished himself in both World War II
and the Korean war. In 1942, he enlisted in the Army Air Forces and
flew 55 combat missions as a fighter pilot. In December of 1944, he was
shot down over Belgium and spent 6 months as a prisoner of war.
Major Loring returned to combat duty in 1952, flying an F-80 jet
fighter in Korea. Leading a patrol on November 22 of that year, he
spotted a concentration of enemy artillery that was pinning down UN
ground troops. As Loring began his bombing run, his plane was severely
damaged by anti-aircraft fire. Rather than abort his mission and leave
the ground troops in danger, Loring dove his damaged aircraft into the
enemy position. He was killed instantly, but his action resulted in the
complete destruction of the threat. When Major Loring's widow was
presented the posthumous Medal of Honor by President Eisenhower on May
9, 1954, it was announced that the new Air Force base in Limestone, ME,
would bear his name.
Gary Gordon grew up in Lincoln, ME. After graduating from his school
in 1978, he enlisted in the Army and later volunteered for the elite
Delta Force unit. On October 3, 1993, while serving in a peacekeeping
mission in Mogadishu, Somalia, Master Sergeant Gordon and fellow sniper
1SG Sergeant Randy Shughart took action to rescue the crews of two
Black Hawk helicopters that had been shot down by Somali gunfire.
Heavily outnumbered and outgunned, Gordon and Shughart fought their
way to the first helicopter, pulled the crew from the wreckage, and
defended their position until they ran out of ammunition. Both gave
their lives defending their fellow soldiers, and both received the
Medal of Honor.
Their extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are immortalized in
the book and movie ``Black Hawk Down.'' Last year, I had the privilege
to join in the dedication of a memorial to Master Sergeant Gordon in
his hometown of Lincoln.
Although separated by many years and theaters of combat, these four
share the common bond of uncommon valor. They are powerful reminders
that our Nation has been blessed throughout our history by ordinary
citizens who possess the character and the strength to do extraordinary
things.
[[Page S6659]]
Veterans Day is a meaningful observance throughout America. Nowhere
did Veterans Day 2022 have more meaning than in the small Maine town of
New Vineyard. That is when Army Air Forces Sergeant Zelwood Gravlin
returned home for burial 79 years after he perished in the skies over
German-controlled Romania during World War II.
Sergeant Gravlin was a gunner on the B-24 Liberator bomber ``Four
Eyes'' that was shot down on August 1, 1943, during Operation Tidal
Wave that targeted the Romanian oil refineries that fueled the Nazi war
machine. Fifty-one of the 177 B-24s on that harrowing raid did not
return.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency began exhuming unknown remains
associated with Operation Tidal Wave in 2017. One set of remains, which
were first interred in a Romanian cemetery and then at an American
Military Cemetery in Belgium, were positively identified as Sergeant
Gravlin's in July.
This remarkable event underscores the commitment of the American
people that the men and women who serve our country will always be
honored and, no matter how many years pass, they will never be
forgotten. May God bless our veterans and may God bless America.
I ask unanimous consent that the ``Bangor Daily News'' story by Emily
Burnham be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From the Bangor Daily News]
These 4 Medal of Honor Recipients From Maine Set Themselves Apart With
Their Bravery
(By Emily Burnham)
More than 100 Mainers have been awarded the Medal of Honor,
the U.S. govermnent's highest honor for military members. Of
those Mainers, each one has an amazing story of bravery and
valor, each important to know and be inspired by.
These are the stories of four of those courageous Mainers,
who distinguished themselves on the battlefield for the sake
of their fellow soldiers and their country--and in some cases
made the ultimate sacrifice.
Andrew J. Tozier
Of the Mainers awarded Medals of Honor for their bravery
during the Civil War, few have a post-war story that's nearly
as remarkable as the story of their battlefield gallantry,
but Andrew Tozier is one such person.
Born in Monmouth, Tozier escaped an abusive father to first
become a sailor. At age 23, not long after the Civil War
began, he enlisted in the 2nd Maine Infantry Regiment. He was
injured and captured at the Battle of Gaines Mill in Virginia
in 1862, but after being released by Confederate forces he
joined Company I of the 20th Maine in 1863.
At Gettysburg, he was the color bearer for his regiment,
and on Little Round Top he defended his fellow soldiers
alone, a feat of bravery for which, decades later, his
commander, Brig. Gen. Joshua Chamberlain, recommended he be
awarded the Medal of Honor--and he was, in 1898, when he was
60.
After the war, Tozier spent nearly five years as a
criminal, stealing cattle and other property in towns across
Maine. He had a powerful ally when he was finally arrested:
Chamberlain, who by then was Maine's governor. Chamberlain
pardoned Tozier, and invited him to live at his house in an
effort to get Tozier to clean up his act. Tozier spent the
rest of his life working as a fisherman, dairy farmer and
factory worker.
Tozier was portrayed by Maine actor Herb Mitchell in the
movie ``Gettysburg,'' and his story was told in the song
``Ballad of the 20th Maine'' by Maine band the Ghost of Paul
Revere.
Edward Dahlgren, Caribou
Aroostook County native Edward Dahlgren lived most of his
life quietly in the town of Blaine, working as a seed potato
inspector for the state. But during World War II, he was
personally responsible for keeping an American platoon out of
danger during an enemy counterattack in Oberhoffen, France,
and capturing about 40 German soldiers during the skirmish on
Feb. 11, 1945--just a few months before the war ended in
Europe.
That action earned him the Medal of Honor, presented to him
by President Harry S. Truman. When he was awarded it, he was
the only living Maine Medal of Honor winner after the Civil
War. Lt. Dahlgren lived in Maine for the rest of his life,
and a hall at the former Loring Air Force Base was named for
him, as was a street in Caribou. He died in 2006 at age 90.
Charles Loring, Portland
Few military members serve in two wars--let alone
distinguish themselves in both the way Portland native
Charles Loring did. A few years after graduating from
Cheverus High School, in 1942, Loring enlisted in the U.S.
Army Air Force and received training as a fighter pilot. He
would spend the next two years flying missions in both North
America and, eventually, on the European front. By December
1944, he'd flown 55 combat missions.
On Dec. 24, 1944, Loring was shot down in Belgium, and
spent the next six months as a Nazi prisoner of war. He was
liberated three days before the war in Europe ended on May 8,
1945.
Loring's actions that garnered him the Medal of Honor came
seven years later when, after years training other pilots, he
returned to combat duty in July 1952 as a jet fighter pilot
during the Korean War. On Nov. 22 of that year, while leading
a flight patrol near the 38th parallel, Loring spotted
Chinese artillery that was pinning down American ground
troops nearby. The Chinese crews fired on Loring's aircraft
and damaged it, but rather than abort the mission, Loring
turned off his radio and dive bombed the artillery,
eliminating the threat. He died on impact, and his body was
never found.
On May 9, 1954, Loring's widow received the Medal of Honor
from President Dwight Eisenhower. On the same day, it was
announced that the newly built Air Force base in Limestone
would be named for him--Loring Air Force Base, which operated
until 1994.
Gary Gordon, Lincoln
Master Sgt. Gary Gordon, a native of Lincoln and graduate
of Mattanawcook Academy, joined the Army straight out of high
school, eventually joining the elite 1st Special Forces
Operational Detachment-Delta, or Delta Force.
In 1993, he was posted as part of a peacekeeping mission in
Mogadishu, Somalia, and on Oct. 3 of that year went in with
his fellow sniper Randy Shughart to protect the crews of two
Black Hawk helicopters that had been shot down by Somali
gunfire during the Battle of Mogadishu, made famous by the
book and film ``Black Hawk Down.''
During the battle, Gordon urged his superiors to let him
get on the ground to protect the crew of the downed
helicopters from Somali soldiers. Shughart and Gordon alone
pulled the crew from the helicopters and defended their
position until they ran out of ammunition. Both died
defending their fellow soldiers.
Gordon and Shughart were awarded the Medal of Honor, the
first awardees since the war in Vietnam. Gordon's widow,
Carmen, was presented with the medal in 1994 by President
Bill Clinton, and in 1996, the USNS Gordon was named for him.
Last year, a statue of Gordon was unveiled in his hometown of
Lincoln, and this year, Maine lawmakers advocated for naming
a Maine-built Navy destroyer after him.
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