Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, the United States State Department is on an art spending spree.

First, it spent $1 million for a granite statue at the London Embassy. It is modern art. It looks like a stack of bricks.

Now it has spent $400,000 for a statue of a camel that will be sent to the Embassy in Pakistan. Is this really necessary? I mean, a camel?

This is an example of spending somebody else's money. This ought to be embarrassing to the State Department.

Mr. Speaker, there is more.

This is the same State Department that the inspector general has recently said has lost or misplaced $6 billion. The State Department cannot account for this money. Where, oh, where has the taxpayer money gone? If any business lost $6 billion its shareholders would be mad and want answers. But the government gives no answers, and what money it has it wastes on camel statues.

Congress should pass my bipartisan bill with Mr. Connolly, the Foreign Aid Accountability Act, and make the State Department account for the money it spends, otherwise more lost money, more camel statues, more art spending sprees.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker,

Ev'ry day we say our prayer, Will they change the bill of

fare, Still we get the same old gru . . . el, There's not a

crust, not a crumb can we find, Can we beg, can we borrow, or

cadge, But there's nothing to stop us from getting a thrill,

When we all close our eyes and imag . . . ine, Food, glorious

food!

There is no limit to how far the federal government arms can reach.

``Please, sir, I want some more,'' is not just a quote from the movie Oliver, but a phrase that I am sure has been heard throughout schools by students from 2012 till just recently.

Through the Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, the federal government's arms have become stronger and longer, allowing them to snatch kids' lunch bags and replace it with what they believe our kids should be eating.

So long gone are the days of parenting, we have the government to do it for us.

Now it's the USDA who teaches our children about what they should and should not be eating.

Children are more likely to choose a peanut butter and jelly sandwich over a salad or vegetables, but the USDA determined that the best way to have the kids make the ``healthy'' choice is to eliminate their options altogether.

Although the USDA recently eliminated the grain and protein limits under the National School Lunch Program, they should have never had that kind of power to begin with.

The federal government may have decided to stop telling our children whether to have a whole or half sandwich, but its influence is still strong.

The feds force our children to pick 1/2 cup serving of fruits or vegetables with their breakfast or lunch--whether they eat it or not.

In their attempts to make our young students healthier, the USDA has unmasked the myth that drinking whole and 2% milk is bad because of the vitamins and nutrients.

Apparently it is so bad that USDA has removed them from being available at schools altogether.

Even though the USDA believes the National School Lunch Program changes are sensible, they ignore the additional costs on schools and disregard concerns that the mandated fruit and vegetables serving will go to waste.

There goes common sense right out of the window.

But then again what does the state, local school boards, individual schools, or parents know?

The federal government knows best or at least that's what they think.

Time to let local schools and parents decide what children should eat--not Washington, DC bureaucrats.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, every morning for the past fifteen years, Southeast Texans have turned on their radios to AM 700 on their morning drive and heard my good friend, Edd Hendee. On his show, Edd talks about everything from hot political topics to the Texans. It's hard to believe that his time on Houston radio will soon come to an end. Edd will be missed on the airwaves, but I have no doubt that he will continue to impact Houston.

Edd is a fourth generation Texan, skilled entrepreneur, brilliant business owner, patriot and Texan to the bone. Edd Hendee and his wife, Nina, operate the best steak restaurant in Texas, the Taste of Texas. The Hendees opened the doors of the Taste of Texas in 1977. Today, over three decades later, the Taste of Texas is a Houston landmark. The restaurant is known not only for its outstanding, high quality food but also its first rate service and superb wait staff of mostly young Texans.

The Hendees are remarkable business owners who know that a hard working staff is key in the hospitality business. Since the restaurant first opened, the Hendees have employed more than 10,000 people--young adults--at their restaurant. Over the years, the Hendees have learned some valuable lessons on management and mentoring. They don't just treat their staff like employees; they treat them like family. But, then again, Edd and Nina are not your average employers. They treat their employees well but require that their employees live their lives to certain standards: be polite, be punctual, study and prepare for school, work hard and stay away from drugs. Edd and Nina serve as mentors for their employees, requiring them to make certain grades and helping them stay on track in school. They also hold their employees accountable, drug testing them regularly. The Hendees not only teach their employees how to work in a professional setting, but they also teach them how to succeed in life through hard work and dedication. It is certainly remarkable and rare for employers to care that much about their excellent employees. The Hendees go above and beyond for their extended family.

I always enjoy the opportunity to visit with the Hendees at The Taste of Texas. In the kitchen, one can see where the magic happens. They have an impeccable, efficient operation that is built upon the finest quality beef, an abundant salad bar and friendly Texas service. It's name--the Taste of Texas--is well-suited because it really showcases Texas' finest.

As a Texas history lover, perhaps my favorite part about the Taste of Texas is its extensive collection of historical Texana documents and artifacts. Over the years, the Hendees have given almost daily tours to hundreds of thousands of young Texans, including many school children. Nina, a Texas Historian, also gives Texas history lessons almost every Saturday to different groups. Of course, it is a requirement for my staff to go hear one of Nina's Texas talks. A visit to the Taste of Texas is simply a journey through the long, glorious history of Texas highlighting Texas' 9 years as an Independent Nation. (Some say we are still an independent country).

I have always appreciated Edd's perspective and radio commentary because as a business owner, he has seen it all. In his fifteen years on the radio, he has spent each morning advocating for issues that are important to Texans. Like me, he often pontificates on issues, such as the Second Amendment, individual liberty, a secure border and a limited federal government. As an entrepreneur, he is a strong advocate for lower taxes and a smaller, more accountable government because he has seen firsthand how the government can stand in the way of business. And, as the husband of Nina, Edd's commentary often touches upon Texas history and explanations as to why things are the way they are. That's why Houston loves listening to Edd in the mornings.

Edd's voice will be greatly missed on the airwaves, but he and his wife's impact on Houston will continue because of their devotion to the community, their commitment to their employees and the well-deserved success of the Taste of Texas. As proud Texans who want to give back to their nation, I am also grateful that Edd and Nina serve on my Service Academy Advisory Board, helping to interview and nominate some of Houston's best and brightest to attend our nation's military academies. These are the people who will defend our nation in the future. I congratulate Edd on his fifteen years of on-air success and wish him all of the best in his next chapter of Texas History.

And that's just the way it is.

Madam Speaker, the head cheerleader in charge held a pep rally this week. Standing in front of a boisterous pep squad of bureaucrats from HHS and Democrats who support ObamaCare, the President declared his mission accomplished.

However, not there and not invited were millions who had lost their plans and lost their doctors that the President promised that they could keep. Many citizens have seen their health insurance costs rise, their deductibles increase, and their coverage decrease, and they weren't there either.

One single mom in my district wrote me that she had to send her son off to live with her parents because she could no longer afford to support him due to the rise in her health care costs under ObamaCare. She wasn't there either.

But the President declared the debate over repealing ObamaCare is over. Not so fast, Mr. President. College pep rally campaigning in front of a handpicked audience won't change the fact that ObamaCare is bad medicine for America.

And that's just the way it is.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time, and I thank him for having this Special Order regarding the dastardly crime of sexual assault.

I also want to thank my friend Mr. Costa from California for his work. We serve as cochairs on the Victims' Rights Caucus, and it is a caucus that does exactly what it says. We promote and advocate on behalf of crime victims throughout in the country here legislatively.

Mr. Costa, as some of you may know his history from California and he was the author of the Three Strikes, You're Out law that many States now have adopted. It is good law, and I want to commend him for his work on the caucus and also his comments.

Madam Speaker, I spent all my career before I came to Congress at the criminal courts building in Houston, first as a prosecutor and then about 22 years as a criminal court judge. I heard about 25,000 cases as a judge. I heard a lot as a prosecutor. All of those cases dealt with people, not just the defendant, but the victims of crime as well.

I would like to talk about just one person. It happened a long time ago in a case I prosecuted. I am going to change the names to protect the privacy of the family of the victim. This young student went to one of our schools in Houston, Texas. She is working in the daytime, went to night school to get a second degree. She is driving home on one of our freeways at night. She had car trouble. She pulled over to a service station, looking for some help because all the lights had come on.

She gets out of the car and she talked to a person that she thought was a service station attendant. Billy Smith wasn't a service station attendant. He was just hanging around. He pulls out a gun. He kidnaps Lucy and takes her to a remote place of our county. He did a lot of bad things to her, including beating her up and abandoning her, left her for dead. In fact, when he was later arrested by the Houston Police Department, he was mad that he hadn't killed her.

A remarkable lady. She recovered those physical wounds. Her medical needs were met. The bad guy was caught. I prosecuted him in front of a jury of 12 right-thinking Americans in Houston, and he was convicted of sexual assault of Lucy and received the maximum sentence of 99 years in a Texas penitentiary.

We would hope, as a society, that all would be well, life would go on, and good things would happen. That is not reality. That is not the world we live in now or then. Because when you deal with a victim of a sexual assault, they are a special person. Everything about their identity, in many cases, has been destroyed. In fact, defendants, I think, try to destroy the soul of sexual assault victims.

Lucy testified at that trial, but her life fell apart. She dropped out of school. In fact, she never went on that campus again. She lost her job, her husband. The kind of guy he was, he divorced her and left her. She started using drugs, and she used drugs for a while.

Not too long after the trial was over with, I received a phone call from her mother telling me that Lucy had taken her life. And she left a note, and in that note she said: I am tired of running from Billy Smith in my nightmares. You see, she got the death penalty because she was a victim of crime, a real person. We would hope for the best. That is not reality.

So we, as a society, have to understand the plight of victims. When the crime is committed against them, it is not like a theft case. It is a personal crime. And some don't make it; they don't recover. And society needs to be there to help them, as Mr. Costa says, to let them know they are not alone anymore, that we are on their side and we are going to do what we can to see that justice occurs in their case, because, Madam Speaker, justice is what we do in this country.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, a lady in my district wrote about the administration's new immigration enforcement policy--or, rather, the lack thereof. She is worried, and so am I. The government claims that it prioritizes deporting criminal aliens before all others who are illegally in the country.

Really?

According to news reports in 2013, nearly 68,000 foreign criminals were caught, charged, and/or convicted of a felony or serious misdemeanor then released back onto the streets of America. Well, why? The administration should follow the law and deport foreign criminals and not let them loose.

There is more. In some instances, a criminal illegal goes to a U.S. prison and then he is ordered deported, and their home country won't take them back. That is why I have introduced legislation to withhold diplomatic visas to nations who won't take back their lawfully deported criminals. The administration should just simply enforce the law.

Foreign criminals who have committed crimes in America belong behind bars, and then they should be sent back where they came from.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, March 31, the National Association of Workforce Boards will present its 2014 W.O. Lawton Business Leadership Award to ExxonMobil for its important contributions to our community. The W.O. Lawton Business Leadership Award aims to honor and recognize businesses that make valuable investments in a community to help meet its needs through workforce training, educational programs, and funding for similar services. ExxonMobil has long demonstrated its commitment to the greater Houston community but its particular work with the ``Community College Petrochemical Initiative'' deserves special recognition.

ExxonMobil is currently investing billions in capital investment to expand its petrochemical operations in the Houston area, including a new corporate 285-acre campus. This expansion will soon be home to 10,000 jobs. However, with the thousands of baby boomers within the petrochemical industry who are retiring, ExxonMobil recognized the need to proactively train and hire more skilled workers. Working with the Gulf Coast Workforce Board and the Texas Workforce Commission, ExxonMobil partnered with nine Houston-area community colleges to create a training and education initiative that will train and recruit new workers for high-paying jobs, helping to replace the continually increasing number of retirees from the industry. To do so, ExxonMobil committed $500,000 to fund its Community College Petrochemical Initiative. In partnership with Lee College in Baytown, Texas, ExxonMobil leveraged equipment and provided volunteers to help the community college upgrade its labs with industry standard equipment. The company also served as a ``gold sponsor'' for the college's EnergyVenture Program, a 36-hour program or ``camp'' that teaches middle and high school students about careers within the energy industry. The company also provided paid internships to Lee College students. The results have been remarkable: 100 percent of the interns whom completed the program were hired by ExxonMobil.

Of course, in Texas we know that ExxonMobil's commitment to its community expands beyond this initiative. Last year, ExxonMobil also participated in a number of other community collaborations, including Partners in Education, a program that funds and provides volunteers to serve as tutors and mentors for students on STEM-related assignments; Introduce a Girl to Engineering, a program that provides 180 middle school girls with hands-on activities to learn and get excited about careers in the STEM fields; Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID), a program that has helped more than 400 students achieve their dream of attending college by improving their academic and organizational skills; Science Day, a program that has taught over 350 eighth grade students about the many daily uses for chemical reactions; Volunteer Involvement Program (VIP), a program that has donated $580,000 to schools or nonprofits where ExxonMobil employees volunteer; Student Essay Contest, a contest sponsored by ExxonMobil for high school students to write about energy awareness; and paying for internships for students at Lee College, Texas A&M University and The University of Texas.

In addition, ExxonMobil's management and employees participate and provide leadership to local community economic and workforce development entities, serving on the boards for economic development associations, chambers and workforce committees. They also work closely with the Gulf Coast Workforce Board's career offices to help recruit and hire new employees.

These accomplishments are impressive in and of themselves, but they are only indicative of the long-lasting impact that this company's community collaborations will have down the road. ExxonMobil is setting the standard in how employers today can make meaningful investments to help prepare tomorrow's workers and to benefit local communities. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the time, and I also thank the chairman and the ranking member for bringing this legislation to the floor in a very speedy and efficient manner.

I will also say I have great respect for my friend from California (Mr. Rohrabacher). He knows a lot about foreign affairs, but we disagree on what the evidence shows in this particular matter.

Mr. Speaker, Mark Twain once said that, ``History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.'' Well, Russia is quite the poet these days.

In 2008, Russia invaded Georgia and confiscated one-third of that Nation's territory. The world watched, complained a little bit. The world moved on. There were no consequences. And the Russians, Mr. Speaker, are still there. Again, second verse, same as the first.

The ``Napoleon of Siberia'' has invaded Ukraine and seized Crimea. Putin is bent on establishing a Soviet-style empire and allegedly uniting Russian-speaking people throughout the world. Well, who knows who his next target will be. It could be our friends in Moldova, the rest of Ukraine, or Estonia.

Russia has been able to maintain dominance over the region because of its vast energy sources, especially natural gas. Six countries in Europe rely 100 percent on Russia for their natural gas. Russia uses gas as a political and economic weapon to manipulate these countries.

I was in Ukraine in winter when Russia turned off the gas for political reasons. It was cold. It was dark. This bill helps disarm that hostage tactic. It includes my amendment that commits the U.S. to helping Ukraine use American natural gas.

There must be consequences for the bully, Putin, for invading other Nations like Ukraine. Justice requires there be consequences. Mr. Speaker, justice is what we do.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, the Napoleon of Siberia has launched cold war II. He seems to be on a mission to restore the Soviet empire. He invaded Georgia, then Ukraine. He seized Crimea. Putin's next target? Well, no one knows.

However, quietly, behind the scenes, Putin seems to be resurrecting a cold war nuclear program in violation of the 1987 INF Treaty with the United States.

Mr. Speaker, what good is a nuclear treaty if not all sides abide by it? Will Russia's cheating start a 21st century arms race?

Representatives Mike Rogers, Joe Heck, and I have introduced a resolution stating that the Russians have violated the treaty and there must be consequences. Russia cheats on treaties, invades other nations, and we basically watch and talk and say that just isn't nice.

The President said of treaties in 2009: ``Rules must be binding. Violations must be punished. Words mean something.''

However, as my grandfather used to say: ``When all is said and done, more is said than done.''

What are the consequences for Russian violation of the INF Treaty? We shall see.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to pay tribute to Mr. Santana Gonzalez on his retirement with thirty-five years of service with Chevron Corporation. Santana began his professional career with Gulf Oil, and since then, he has held a succession of public and government relations assignments in Texas, New Mexico, and Southern California. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a unique ability to engage governmental, media, and community stakeholders as well as provide support to incident response activities.

Most recently, Santana has served with distinction in Chevron's State Government Relations office and as the Manager for Policy, Government and Public Affairs for Chevron Pipeline in Chevron's Gas and Midstream.

One of his career highlights includes receiving the Chevron Chairman's Award, an award that recognizes colleagues and teams who demonstrate ingenuity and initiative to achieve extraordinary results for the company. In addition, his service to the Hispanic community earned him the National Council of La Raza's President's Award.

Santana Gonzalez grew up in South Texas, in the Brownsville-Harlingen area. His family moved to Houston in 1968. He attended Bellaire High School and, coincidentally, his last work assignment was also in Bellaire. Gonzalez graduated from the University of Texas-Pan American in 1976 and went on to receive his Juris Doctorate from the University of Houston School of Law in 1979.

To say that Santana will be missed on his retirement is an understatement. His gift of gab and contagious laugh are legendary amongst his colleagues and all who know him. Those who work most closely with him have admired his capacity for work, his intelligence and wise and wry counsel. No challenge has been too big for him to manage, and Chevron's reputation was lifted by his every engagement with communities, governments and business partners.

Santana and his wife Nellie reside in Pearland. She is looking forward to having Santana as her personal chef and tour guide during retirement. Santana is looking forward to doing a lot of reading and spending time with his two beautiful daughters, Lisa and Amber, and his granddaughter, Crysalynn Mae. He and Nellie are anxiously awaiting another grandchild into the world in the near future.

I congratulate Santana on his retirement, and thank him for his diligent service to the energy industry, particularly in the great state of Texas. I wish him all the best that retirement has to offer. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, the Napoleon of Siberia, Putin, controls Ukraine and other European countries by holding their energy needs hostage. Russia uses gas as a political and economic weapon to manipulate its neighbors.

This does not have to be, and the United States can change that.

By selling European countries our oil and gas, we can reduce their dependence on imperialist Russia. We have more gas than we can use here in the United States, and we could sell the gas we don't need to our allies in Europe. That would create jobs here in America and help our allies overseas.

The same goes for crude oil.

Mr. Speaker, my amendment that passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee today would require the State Department to submit a report to Congress within 90 days on the effect our increased natural gas and crude oil exports would have on Russia's economic and political influence over Ukraine and other European nations.

Ukraine has to get their oil and gas from someplace. Let's have them buy American and make the Russian bear Putin and his energy irrelevant.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, the Russian bear has roared. Bully Putin has gobbled up the strategic Crimea. The world did little except protest. So the bear eyes more sovereign land as prey.

We should not forget that while the West watched, KGB Colonel Putin invaded Georgia and stole one-third of that nation. The Russians have never left.

Now the persistent, pesky Putin is still hungry, and he wants more. Will it be Ukraine, Moldavia, Belarus, or our NATO ally, Estonia? This is Cold War II. It has begun.

Villain Vladimir holds former Soviet Republics hostage because the Ruskies control their energy. I was in Ukraine when Putin turned off the gas in winter to punish the Ukrainians. It was cold; it was dark.

Let us loosen the noose around the neck of Ukraine. Sell them our oversupply of natural gas. Expedite the permits, development, and delivery of U.S. natural gas. Send the word over there that the gas is coming, the gas is coming. Let the Napoleon of Siberia know he has bitten off more than he can chew by starting Cold War II.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, last night, I held a telephone town hall and called almost 60,000 homes back in Texas. I heard from southeast Texans about a lot of things that were on their minds, but the number one concern I heard about was cuts to the military.

Mr. Speaker, one citizen said to me: We, the United States, were not prepared militarily for World War II. Why are we doing the same thing now? We need to be increasing, not decreasing, our military capabilities.

I even took a poll and asked those who were listening in on the call: Do you think we should reduce our military? An overwhelming 85 percent of the people on the call said: No.

Mr. Speaker, our men and women in the military should be the last thing we cut from the Federal budget. The world is getting more and more dangerous as time goes on. We should not lose sight of the enemies we face. Both countries and terrorists who wish to do us harm still exist. Our military is the best in the world--and we must make sure it stays that way.

And that's just the way it is.

I thank the chairman for yielding time.

Mr. Chairman, the Constitution and the laws of the land are not mere suggestions for any President, whether it is this President, future Presidents, or Presidents before us; but this administration, for some reason, continues to enforce laws that Congress passes and that have been signed by other Presidents.

Despite the constitutional phrase that the executive will ``faithfully execute the law,'' the administration ignores the ``faithful'' part. He has been unfaithful in many cases of executing the laws of the land. The former constitutional law professor in the White House said he will rule by pen and phone.

Whatever happened to ruling by the Constitution? I guess we don't use that anymore.

If the administration doesn't like a law, the administration ignores the law. If the administration wants to change a law rather than to go to Congress and let us work with the President to amend the law, the President just issues an edict and changes the law.

This has created a constitutional nightmare, a constitutional crisis--constitutional chaos--because we never know what is going to happen with the law of the land. Is it a mere suggestion or is it in concrete?

This is a democracy, not a kingdom. The United States President is not supposed to be an emperor, and not supposed to rule down from Mount Sinai about what he thinks the law should be.

We disagree on whether the President has abused that power or not. We will disagree on future Presidents. So what do we do about that?

Well, let's go to court. Let's resolve those issues in a court of law, where the Constitution and the law of the land is followed, Mr. Chairman.

That is all this bill does. It gets us in the courtroom. It allows us to make our case, they make their case on any particular issue, and then we will let an impartial judge make the decision.

I support the legislation.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, throughout life, people come and go. Some stay for a lifetime. Some you might wonder how, out of the billions of people in the world, you end up next to them again after 90 years with everything from a war and life's triumphs in between. It's a rare occurrence, but the life story of two World War II veterans right here in Houston, Texas.

Hymie Abramson and Milton ``Mittie'' Tartakov celebrated birthdays together for years. They were both born on June 6th, 1924, at St. Joseph's Hospital in Houston. The coincidence of their birth date and place are only the beginning of their life story. Twelve years later, Mittie and Hymie found each other again on the San Jacinto High School baseball field. And that's where their true story began.

Mittie was a talented middle infielder and Hymie a utility outfielder. They stuck together through all the games, practices, and championships. Whatever event it was, they stuck by each other. Little did they know, that was only preparing them for what was to come. Shortly after graduating high school, Mittie and Hymie received their draft cards. Though it wasn't quite a surprise given the demand in WWII, going off to war is never easy to process. Questions and doubts, rightfully so, arose, and they had each other to help answer them. The first question became Army versus Navy, with many to follow. Mittie's older brother served in the Navy and Hymie's older brothers served in the Army. But they decided the U.S. Navy was for them. When Hymie questioned Mittie about how happy he was with his decision to join the Navy over the Army, he grinned and said, ``We're still alive, aren't we?'' That became their life motto.

During a conversation with Mittie, he smirked and said, ``We were two green-faced kids fresh out of high-school, who thought we were going to San Diego for boot camp where there would be beaches, sun and girls. So we gathered what little money we had and, with the shirts on our back, planned for our travels. But the Navy had other plans, in fact, we were sent to Chicago, in the dead of winter, to train on Lake Michigan.'' The two battled the brutal winter on Lake Michigan while preparing for War, having never been further from Houston than Lubbock. This was the first of many realities they would face during their service.

After training together, both Hymie and Mittie were commissioned as Aviation Machinist Mates for the same ship the USS Savo Island--an escort carrier departing from the Kaiser Shipyard in Astoria, Oregon, heading for the South Pacific. During this time, both men learned a lot. The USS Savo Island was nicknamed a ``jeep carrier'' because of the relatively small size of the aircraft carrier. It held 40 planes, 15 bombers called TBM Avengers, and 25 fighter planes. The Avengers were torpedo bombers targeting enemy surface ships. They had internal fuel tanks in the wings for additional fuel storage that would allow them to travel farther distances. Additionally, they had Yehudi lights which were used to match the brightness of the sky creating counter- illumination camouflage. The camouflage would allow them to get closer to the enemy without being seen until they were within the 3,000 yard range. Quite a different life from the baseball field where they first ``officially'' met.

The journey was unpredictable for both of the men who, at this point, were basically brothers. Every day was different. One day, about 6- months into deployment, Mittie and Hymie were playing football. Given their love for sports, it was their way of unwinding but maybe not on this day. During a casual game of football, Hymie went for a pass and fell off the flight deck, causing him to break his leg. No break is a good break but the outcome for him wasn't exactly what he had hoped for. There was no other option but for him to be taken to the hospital on Tulagi Island,The two men were separated at this moment for several years.

The days weren't easy. Nights were warm and days registered around 120 degrees with the sun beaming down on the men. On those kinds of nights, Mittie would seek refuge from what felt like an inferno by sleeping on the flight deck instead of down below in the bunks. Most of the nights anyway, men would rarely sleep through the night as they always had to be on-guard: submarine attacks and bombers were a frequent occurrence. There was a critical shortage of tail-gunners during this time. The tail-gunner position was the most dangerous on the bombers. Enemy aircrafts targeted this position often, as it was the most vulnerable on the plane. But Mittie volunteered for the position as a tail gunner. Courtesy of the TBM's camouflage, it was the most forward plane of the squadron, closest to the enemy and furthest from the ship. While Mittie was working as a tail-gunner down range, Hymie regained his health and was sent stateside to continue work as an aviation machinist for the remainder of the War.

The USS Savo Island made a remarkable journey, fighting in seven invasions. The last combat mission they fought was in Okinawa, where the ship's radar tower was hit by a kamikaze. From there, the ship sailed to Guam, and there it was repaired before traveling to Alaska for refuge. It was off the shores of Alaska when Mittie was finally told the great news: Victory over Japan. The USS Savo Island continued its voyage for port at Pearl Harbor. While in Hawaii, the Navy treated the men to a 6-month R and R before heading back home. But as far as Mittie was concerned, Houston, Texas, sounded more like paradise than Hawaii. Before he finally returned home, the USS Savo Island earned the Presidential Unit Citation--the highest honor a ship can earn. That marked the day Millie was permitted to wear the ribbon with ``the star'' on his uniform.

I. 1946, Mittie and Hymie were both discharged at Camp Wallace in Galveston,

Texas. Shortly after being discharged, the two veterans joined A-Jayes, a young mens social club. Millie went on to attend college at the University of Houston. Upon graduation, he began working for a lumber yard, of which he eventually took ownership. He renamed it Milton's Lumber and Building Co. It was a success for 53 years.

Hymie owned Metropolitan Furniture with his brothers, where he worked on developing advertisements, design and even helped with the construction of the building. Despite everything Hymie and Mittie had in common throughout life, they chose different career paths. But that didn't come between them in any way. Both businesses were down the street from each other on Jensen Drive, and the best friends managed to eat lunch together almost every day.

The year 1953 would change both Hymie and Mittie's lives. It was the year they both met their wives, Blanch and Sally. These two women not only brought the two men closer but the two couples became best of friends. They did everything together from bowling leagues every week to traveling the country.

Five years ago, Hymie and his wife, Blanch, moved to the Hampton Post Oak. Sure enough, 2 years later, Blanch convinced Mittie to move there as well. Up until yesterday, Mittie and Hymie spent their days playing Texas Hold'em with their friends at The Hampton on Post Oak.

On March 10, 2014, Mittie went to be with the Lord. We are forever indebted to men like Mittie and Hymie for their service to America. They are the rare, special breed that has shaped our country into the great Nation we are today. They are the Greatest Generation.

And that's just the way it is.