On the recordSeptember 11, 2012
The south Florida community recently lost a hero when World War II veteran William Kling passed away at the age of 84. Bill Kling, a native New Yorker, served in the Navy during World War II. Throughout his life, he was an active member of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Jewish War Veterans, and the Disabled American Veterans. For me, he was an inspiration and a friend. However, Bill is best known for his role as the president of the Broward County Veterans Council for 27 years. Bill's activism led to building of an outpatient VA clinic in Broward County, a veterans nursing home in Pembroke Pines, and the opening of the South Florida National Cemetery in 2007. So even as we mourn the loss of an incredible advocate, we know that Bill Kling's contributions live on in every veteran cared for at the outpatient clinic he helped to build, in every family who visits an elderly veteran residing at the nursing home he helped to establish, and in every prayer spoken at the national cemetery that he helped make possible. I join with Bill's family in mourning his loss; but on this anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, I express the gratitude of our entire south Florida community that will long benefit from Bill Kling's tireless efforts to honor those who so bravely served our Nation. ____________________
