Ehrlich on Washington column, November 15, 1999

NEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr Second Congressional District of Maryland 1 407 York Road, Suite 304 3 1 5 Cannon House Office Building Lutherville, Maryland 2 1 093 Washington, D.C. 205 1 5 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON Week of November 15, 1999 By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Symbols of Sacrifice As I reflect on Veterans Day 1999, 1 recall many meetings, activities, and opportunities I had this year to honor Maryland veterans. In addition to meeting regularly with our hometown heroes, I had the privilege of awarding medals to veterans for various battles in a number of wars. I will never forget these experiences and am proud to have been a part of such important occasions. These awards and medals are symbolic of our gratitude for duty and service to this nation. In April, I had the honor of assisting Major General Dennis Jackson, U.S. Army, in awarding the Silver Star to World War II veteran Mr. Lucian Lucas of Towson, Maryland. Mr. Lucas, truly one of America’s heroes, received the Silver Star for gallantry in action while securing Germany’s Merode Castle, a mission vital to seizing the west bank of the Ruhr River during the Battle of the Bulge. After receiving the award, Mr. Lucas gratefully dedicated his Silver Star as a memorial to all his men who did not return from that battle. On August 11, 1 joined three generations of families at the World War II Memorial in Annapolis to honor World War II veterans with the Jubilee of Liberty medal in recognition of valor on the beaches at Normandy. The Normandy Invasion lasted 87 days, from June 6, 1944 to August 31, 1944, a truly historic campaign that began the liberation of Europe. When it was over, the beaches of France were secure, and the push to Paris and Berlin was well underway. Many American soldiers, however, lost their lives - having paid the ultimate sacrifice. Many others survived, but wear the scars of battle to this day. I am honored to have participated in these opportunities, and I look forward to December 2nd when I will present the Congressional Medal of Honor in Sergeant Donn Porter’s memory to Admiral James Holloway, U.S.N. Ret., former Chief of Naval Operations, and their alma mater, St. James School in Hagerstown, MD. Originally, Sergeant Porter was awarded the nation’s highest decoration posthumously for his “incredible display of valor” in Korea during September, 1 952. While under intense fire, the young sergeant killed six enemy soldiers in bayonet fighting and forced his opponents to flee before being killed. Porter’s “gallant self-sacrifice and consummate devotion to duty” saved his comrades.