Political Quotes

“Last week the remains of Corporal Judge C. Hellums of Paris, Mississippi, were returned from the Parroy Forest near Luneville, France, and given a proper burial in Arlington National Cemetery. In the fall of 1944, following the Normandy invasion, Corporal Hellums' unit, the 773rd Tank Battalion, was fighting its way east through France toward the German border. The M-10 tank destroyer to which he was assigned was attacked. Two men survived with serious injuries, but Corporal Hellums, along with Private First Class Lawrence N. Harris of Elkins, West Virginia, and Private Donald D. Owens of Cleveland, Ohio, were killed in the attack. All evidence at the time indicated that their remains had been destroyed. Over the last decade, through the cooperation of a French citizen who had been exploring the forest and the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command using DNA evidence and forensic identification tools, the remains of these heroes were identified. On July 20, 2011, 67 years after their deaths, they were given the proper burial they had been denied as they were laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. To these heroes, we say: Welcome home, and may you rest in peace. While these soldiers were identified, we still have 72,000 American soldiers who are unaccounted for from World War II, and more than 83,000 from all wars who are missing in action. Staff Sergeant Leroy Leist is one of those Americans. In 1944, his World War II bomber was shot down over the North Sea.…”