Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today I would like to pay tribute to a great American veteran, public servant, leader, and Texan, Mr. Roland ``Ken'' Towery. Ken passed away on May 4, 2016, at the age of 93. Ken personified integrity, sacrifice, and hard work as a member of the Greatest Generation. He will be sorely missed by the family he leaves behind, those whose lives he touched, and a grateful Nation. Ken was born in 1923 in Smithville, MS, but quickly moved to Texas a year later. Ken grew up on his family's farm in Willacy County. When Ken was 14, they moved to farm land on the Medina River near San Antonio. The day Ken turned 18, he enlisted in the Army. He was later asked about why he enlisted, and he said, ``I wanted to see the world and signed up asking for service as far away from home as the Army could send me.'' A few short months later, Ken sailed to the Philippines on the USS Republic. He received basic and advanced individual training on Corregidor Island in Manila Bay; he served as a crew member for the 75mm antiaircraft guns with Battery C, 60th Coast Artillery. In the initial months of America's involvement in World War II, the 60th Coast Artillery joined with the 59th Coast Artillery to defend the Bataan Peninsula, blocking the Japanese Navy from Manila Bay. Ken and his fellow soldiers fought gallantly; many, including Ken, were awarded the Purple Heart for injuries received in defense of the island. In May of 1942, the island fell to the Japanese, and Ken was captured.…”