To designate the medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Huntington, West Virginia, as the Hershel "Woody" Williams VA Medical Center.

Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, for yielding.

Today, we are voting on H.R. 3663, which would rename the Huntington VA Medical Center in honor of Corporal Hershel ``Woody'' Williams.

I first met Woody more than 20 years ago when I was elected to the State legislature. Over the more than two decades I have known him, Woody has never stopped fighting for his fellow veterans. I am honored to call him a constituent and a friend.

At 94 years young, Woody is still a vocal advocate for our veterans and their families. Whether it be at countless legislative committee hearings, veterans recognition and appreciation events, or Veterans Day and Memorial Day commemorations, Woody is there fighting for our veterans.

Woody is an unbelievably brave and kind man. Not only did he demonstrate extraordinary heroism at Iwo Jima, but he has dedicated his life to serving veterans and our community. Each year our local Boy Scouts--our local Scout council--gets all newly elected Eagle Scouts together and Woody is invited to come and spend time with the boys to share a few thoughts.

When my two sons became Eagles, Woody shook their hands. He looked them in the eye and challenged them to conduct their life according to the Scout oath and motto, to do their duty to God and country, which is exactly how he has lived his life.

Throughout West Virginia and the Nation, Woody is best known for his brave efforts in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

Corporal Williams was a demolition sergeant serving with the 21st Marines, 3rd Marine Division when American troops landed on Iwo Jima.

I would like to read now from Corporal Williams' Medal of Honor citation: ``Quick to volunteer his services when our tanks were maneuvering vainly to open a lane for the infantry through the network of reinforced concrete pillboxes, buried mines, and black volcanic sands, Corporal Williams daringly went forward alone to attempt the reduction of devastating machine gun fire from the unyielding positions.

``Covered only by four riflemen, he fought desperately for 4 hours under terrific enemy small arms fire and repeatedly returned to his own lines to prepare demolition charges and obtain serviced flamethrowers, struggling back frequently to the rear of hostile encampments to wipe out one position after another.

``Corporal Williams' aggressive fighting spirit and valiant devotion to duty throughout this fiercely contested action sustain and enhance the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.''

Woody Williams believed in something greater than himself. His country asked, and he answered. Corporal Williams was there, in that place, at that time, when his country needed him the most.

Following his military service, Woody continued to serve our Nation as a veterans service representative for the Department of Veterans Affairs. He also founded the Hershel Woody Williams Medal of Honor Foundation to recognize the sacrifices of our Nation's Gold Star families.

Woody is an example of the best that West Virginia and our Nation have to offer, and he is, quite simply, an American hero. Renaming the Huntington VA Medical Center to honor his service would be a fitting tribute for all he has done for our veterans and their families.

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for this opportunity.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3663) to designate the medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Huntington, West Virginia, as the Hershel ``Woody'' Williams VA Medical Center.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3663, to designate the medical center of the Department of Veterans

Affairs in Huntington, West Virginia, as the Hershel ``Woody'' Williams VA Medical Center.

This bill is sponsored by my friend and colleague Evan Jenkins, and I am grateful to him for introducing this legislation in honor of an American hero.

Hershel ``Woody'' Williams enlisted in the Marine Corps on May 26, 1943, in Charleston, West Virginia. Following his training, Corporal Williams was deployed to participate in the invasion of Iwo Jima. On February 23, 1945, a system of enemy pill boxes pinned down his unit.

With a 70-pound flamethrower and covering fire from only four riflemen, Corporal Williams braved the viscous barrage and charged forward alone. He fought 4 hours, successfully destroying several enemy strongholds and saving the lives of countless marines.

Corporal Williams fought the entirety of the 5-week battle for the island despite suffering a wound for which he was awarded a Purple Heart. For his actions and his heroism in the face of brutal combat, President Truman awarded Corporal Williams a Medal of Honor on October 5, 1945.

After 20 years of service, he retired from the Marine Corps Reserve and worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Now he serves on the Governor's West Virginia Military Advisory Board and runs the Hershel ``Woody'' Williams Medal of Honor Foundation, a not-for-profit that erects monuments to honor Gold Star families and provides scholarships to eligible Gold Star children.

Today, Corporal Williams is the only surviving marine to have received the Medal of Honor during the Second World War, and I am privileged to support H.R. 3663 in his honor.

This legislation satisfies all of the committee's naming criteria and is sponsored by the entire West Virginia congressional delegation, and is supported by many VSOs.

As an aside, Mr. Speaker, I had the privilege of attending an event in Kingsport, Tennessee, where Corporal Williams was the sponsor for our memorial that is there in Kingsport, Tennessee.

I want to thank my West Virginia colleagues for bringing this up. I thank Congressman Evan Jenkins for introducing this bill, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Jenkins).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. McKinley), who is my good friend.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Gianforte), who is my good friend.

Once again, Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes.'' What I say to Woody is: thank you, thank you, thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this legislation, as well as legislation I introduced along with the Montana Senate delegation to honor three Montana veterans by renaming three Department of Veterans Affairs facilities in their honor. These three veterans have shown the true spirit and dedication all Montanans and Americans should aspire to.

Ben Steele from Roundup, Montana, joined the Army Air Corps and was stationed at Clark Field in the Philippines in 1941 when he was 24. Following the Japanese invasion, Ben fought on Bataan and survived the Bataan Death March. He was held prisoner for 3\1/2\ years, and sketched with charcoal scenes on concrete and secret scraps of paper. Some of his work is still on display in the MacArthur Museum in Norfolk. After the war, he continued his passion for art and taught at MSU-Billings for 33 years.

Mr. Steele passed away in September of 2016 at the age of 98. The only thing he liked more than art was fishing. I am proud that the Billings Community Based Specialty Clinic will be renamed in honor of Benjamin Charles Steele.

David Thatcher enlisted in the Army Air Corps in December of 1940. Following the attacks on Pearl Harbor, Mr. Thatcher volunteered for a secret mission joining Jimmy Doolittle in a bombing mission over Tokyo. Serving as a B-25 tail gunner on the Ruptured Duck, Thatcher saved the lives of his crew when the plane crashed into the sea trying to make landfall in China after the raid. For his actions, Thatcher was awarded the Silver Star.

The Ruptured Duck was piloted by Lieutenant Ted Lawson, who wrote ``Thirty Seconds over Tokyo.'' Robert Walker played Thatcher in the movie.

Thatcher flew in the African and European theaters for the rest of the war. Thatcher worked for the Postal Service for 30 years following his Army career and was an avid outdoorsman. He passed away in June, 2016, at the age of 94. The community-based outpatient clinic in Missoula will be designated in his honor.

The community-based outpatient clinic on Spring Creek Lane in Billings will be designated in honor of Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow. Dr. Medicine Crow was born in the Crow Indian Reservation in 1913 and was the first member of the tribe to receive a master's degree, graduating from the University of Southern California in 1939.

After working in the naval shipyard in Bremerton, Medicine Crow joined the Army in 1943 and served as a scout in the 103rd Infantry Division in Europe. He became the last surviving war chief of the Crow Nation, having successfully led a war party, stolen horses from the Nazi SS, disarming an enemy and capturing him without killing him. For his service in World War II, he received the Bronze Star and the French Legion of Honor.

After the war, he worked for the Crow Agency and the Bureau of Indian Affairs as well as the Little Big Horn College. He has served on numerous boards and educational commissions. He even addressed the United Nations. He passed away in April of 2016.

Mr. Speaker, while their friends and families know their great deeds, I am honored to share this story with you and the rest of the country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support H.R. 3663, which would name the VA medical center in Huntington, West Virginia, after a true American hero and my personal friend, Hershel ``Woody'' Williams.

Woody is recognized as the last living Medal of Honor recipient from the notoriously horrific Battle of Iwo Jima; but in West Virginia, Woody is known far more for his work on behalf of veterans.

Upon his retirement from the Marines, Woody served 33 years as a counselor with the Department of Veterans Affairs. He served as the commandant of the veterans nursing home in Barboursville, West Virginia, for years, providing care to aging veterans. Then, in 2012, he helped start a Medal of Honor foundation dedicated to honoring Gold Star families and their fallen loved ones.

The foundation has erected monuments in 36 States, like Tennessee, and offers scholarships to children in Gold Star families. Woody frequently travels to Washington to participate in special ceremonies at Arlington National

Cemetery in honor of our fallen heroes. Earlier this year, as my colleague had mentioned, he received national recognition for his service to our country when he was asked to perform the coin toss for the Super Bowl.

It is often said that the character of a person isn't measured by their actions while in the limelight, but rather by the work they do when they are not being in the light, when no one is looking. Woody's life is a manifestation of working behind the scenes. He has been unwavering in his support for our veterans, and Congress has an opportunity to offer him our heartfelt thanks and gratitude.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the passage of H.R. 3663, and I thank my colleague, Evan Jenkins, for this introduction of the bill and his support for Woody Williams.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I, too, rise in support of designating the VA medical center in Huntington, West Virginia, the Hershel ``Woody'' Williams VA Medical Center.

You are going to hear more detail from the gentleman from West Virginia, but it is once again proving the point that these are not exercises in futility. This is how America honors and remembers. Our children need to know who these people were when their name shows up on the VA medical center.

On this one, I think the gentleman from West Virginia knows this, but we were discussing this over here, all of us in Minnesota got to know who he was last February when the world was watching. Some of us remember the moment when people said: ``Who is that marine who walked out and tossed the coin at the Super Bowl?'' It was this gentleman.

I remember the sense of pride and the sense of awe, and we kind of got things into perspective because they told a little background on his story: that we were going to watch a game, and this gentleman was out there fighting for the freedoms to allow that game to happen.

It was a wonderful moment. I am certainly proud and grateful to encourage people to cast a ``yes'' vote on this piece of legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

In closing, once again, Mr. Speaker, I would just remind everyone here that these are not just naming bills. This is our history; it is important. The four stories told today are an amazing testament to what bill we can do as a people, and these individuals deserve this honor.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.