Political Quotes

“I rise to honor Seaman 1st Class William W. Welch, a native of Springfield, OH--an American hero who laid down his life for our country during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Seaman Welch was known to his family as Billy. He enlisted in the Navy, as so many did in those days, at 17. He left during his senior year at Springfield Catholic Central High School, so determined was he to serve his country. On December 7, 1941, Welch was stationed on the USS Oklahoma, docked at the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. The Oklahoma was the first to be hit that fateful morning by the Japanese. Of the more than 1,300 crew aboard, 429 perished that day--a loss of life second only to the better known USS Arizona. The ship capsized, and Billy Welch was among the first of so many Americans to make the ultimate sacrifice for our Nation during World War II. Billy's grieving family was dealt an additional blow when their son's remains were not returned to them, and they were unable to give him a burial befitting his sacrifice. It wasn't until 1943 that the Navy was able to right the Oklahoma and began trying to identify the remains. By then, with the technology available in the 1940s, it was too late for most sailors. Billy and his fellow sailors were buried as ``unknowns,'' and they had rested in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu until last year. In 2014, Billy Welch's nephew, Michael, contacted my office.…”