Dick Durbin: “today I pay tribute to Col. Tom Murgatroyd of Sherman, IL, and his extraordinary family. You may have heard the story of…”

“today I pay tribute to Col. Tom Murgatroyd of Sherman, IL, and his extraordinary family. You may have heard the story of President Abraham Lincoln informing Lydia Bixby of the death of her five sons in defense of the Republic during the Civil War. This is not that story. You may have heard about the five Sullivan brothers who died on board the USS Juneau in World War II as they fought for freedom in the Pacific. This is not that story either. No, Tom Murgatroyd's family does share that uncommon courage that runs in the blood of so many families with veterans, but this story doesn't end in the same way. Like so many great stories, this has the wonderful trait of being true. Tom had seven uncles serving in World War II, and all seven made it back home. George and Addie Powell had 11 sons and 2 daughters. The family lived on a farm near Hillview, in Greene County, IL. In the summer of 1941, Addie wanted a picture of the whole family together. It is always difficult to gather a large family, but that picture was a rare feat and it would become a truly special one. That photo taken on Veterans Day would be the last time they were all together. Though seven of the sons would make it back home from the war, their brother John would succumb to lung cancer while those boys were overseas in 1945. The sons who enlisted to join the war after Pearl Harbor were Arthur, Earl, Fred, George, Everett, Max, and Adrian Powell.…”