Cloture Motion

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. YOUNG. Mr. President:

I would do anything for my country.

If an epitaph were ever written to the ``greatest generation,'' that would be it:

I would do anything for my country.

These words were spoken by one of the remaining heroes from that selfless age. He celebrates his 100th birthday this week, and on this momentous occasion, we owe him thanks for his service.

There he is. His story is powerful. His example is certainly worth following.

At the end of 1941, a teenage attendant was knocked down when an air compressor knocked him off his feet. He was working at Hoosier Pete filling station in Indianapolis. That blast broke windows, it tore off the roof of a room, and it cracked a wall, but it could not keep Clyde Milligan down.

Shortly after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the minor explosion at that station was forgotten, but Clyde was on his feet at a military recruiting station. What was under his feet demonstrated his devotion to this country and his belief in it at a ripe age. You see, Clyde was 16 years old, and he was a sophomore at Ben Davis High School outside Indianapolis. The legal enlistment age at the time was 18, but Clyde could not tell a lie. Nothing was going to stop him from fighting for America, though, so before Clyde walked into that recruiting office, he wrote the No. 18 on the sole of his shoe, and when the recruiting officer asked him if he were over 18, Clyde, of course, said yes.

As a staff sergeant, Clyde guarded the beaches in Virginia and Maryland. That was a dangerous duty, as those beaches were vulnerable to U-boats. This assignment was made sufferable, he said, by the dances that were held at the camp, but those evenings and any other comforts were soon just faded memories by the time Clyde deployed to the South Pacific.

He was a soldier for the 111th Infantry Regiment. He crossed the Marshall Islands, leading a squadron during the allied invasion of Kwajalein. Clyde and his men helped secure American control of that island and destroyed a link in the Japanese defensive perimeter.

For his valor, Clyde was awarded numerous honors. The one he was the most proud of was the Combat Infantryman Badge. That was a few years into a young man's life, a long time ago, like so many of the boys who were asked to and did the impossible: storming the beaches of Normandy, liberating concentration camps, and island-hopping across the Pacific.

When the war ended, Clyde returned back home. This Hoosier boy married. He was wed for many years to his late wife Marie. He worked for and then owned a small business. He dedicated himself to his community and his church. He is still spending his energy to this day on behalf of New Hope Christian Church in Whitestown, IN.

Although the war had interrupted his education, in the 1990s, Clyde-- representing his fellow World War II veterans who had left school to join the fight--Clyde was awarded an honorary high school diploma.

Clyde, you can see, has lived the American dream.

Like so many soldiers, he seldom speaks about his service during the war; he seldom references the sacrifices. He has said in the past that he witnessed things while serving in the South Pacific that no teenager should ever see. What he shared about his service, I am told, was his sense of duty, his commitment to the men he led, and his respect for those he fought under.

Whether he will admit it or not--I suspect the answer is no--Clyde Milligan is one of our best. You might even call him a hero--a hero for the way he answered his country's call in a time of peril and for the way he has lived his life since the war ended--a life guided by faith, full of achievements and friendships, and, as the Bible says, years.

There have been many great generations of Americans dating back to our founding, and I trust there will be many more. The patriotism and humility of one inspires the next. So let's continue to cherish and honor our ``greatest generation'' and the greatest of our generation. Let's inspire this generation and the generations that follow by recognizing these standout citizens--some of them citizen warriors who helped us win World War II--so that when future Americans are called to greatness, they, too, in Clyde Milligan's words, will do anything for their country.

On this monumental birthday, we all--from the U.S. Senate back to his church in Whitestown--send him our best wishes and enduring thanks.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source