Steve Cohen: “I thank Chairman Takano and Ranking Member Bost for bringing this bill to the floor. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in…”

“I thank Chairman Takano and Ranking Member Bost for bringing this bill to the floor. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of our bill, H.R. 6863, to name the Memphis VA hospital in honor of a true World War II hero and a hero in American life, Lieutenant Colonel Luke Weathers, Jr. I didn't know of Lieutenant Colonel Weathers until his passing, and I read about his passing in the Memphis newspaper, the Commercial Appeal, and I went and attended his funeral at St. Theresa Little Flower Church, where he was a member. I think he integrated the church. The church is a large church and it was packed. In spite of the fact that he had moved to retire to Arizona, possibly in Tucson, maybe 15 or 20 years earlier, the people knew Lieutenant Colonel Weathers, they knew his work, they knew his good deeds in the community, and they knew his actions. I was honored to be at that funeral, and I thought this man is something else. It has been well documented what he did with his life and with the Tuskegee Airmen and the Red Tails and the several airplanes he shot down. There is a movie coming out now that is getting a lot of advertisement, and all Members of Congress have been invited to see this week, called ``Devotion,'' about an African-American pilot who was a star in the Korean war. It was Lieutenant Colonel Weathers and the Tuskegee Airmen who were the predecessors of that gentleman's opportunity to defend his country and to show his skills.…”