Political Quotes

“I rise to pay tribute a great man, a compassionate public servant, a decorated war hero and a beloved husband, father and grandfather, John J. Houlihan, who died of lung cancer, Thursday, July 24, in his Palos Heights home surrounded by his loving family. Born in 1923 on Chicago's South Side to the son of a slaughterhouse worker, John Houlihan graduated from Leo High School in 1941. Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of that year, John enlisted in the United States Marines. He was shipped to the South Pacific where he saw action in the Battle of Midway. On his 21st birthday, during a battle on the South Pacific island of Bougainville, he was hit by enemy artillery fire and lost his left leg. John Houlihan was awarded a Purple Heart, the Marine Corps Medal and the Asian Pacific Medal with 3 Bronze Stars. He spent the next year and a half in Veterans' Administration hospitals recuperating from his wounds and undergoing physical therapy. During that time, a friend persuaded him to attend a church dance in Chicago. It was at that dance that John met his future wife, Vernal. Together they would raise a wonderful family of eight children. Even while bouncing on crutches, John taught his children how to swim, ride bikes and hit baseballs. He taught them music and the joys of being a Notre Dame football fan. As his daughter Maureen has said, John's children grew up learning the Notre Dame fight song and the Marine Corps hymn.”