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Floor Speech

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Mr. YOUNG. Cpl Marion ``Wayne'' Saucerman--there he is.

He graduated from Dugger High School in Sullivan County, IN, in 1943. Two days later, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps. This is a decision he made after he listened to reports of the attack on Pearl Harbor over the family radio in 1941.

Corporal Saucerman was ready to fight, and fight he did with great valor. In a year, he went from rural western Indiana to the volcanic beaches of Iwo Jima. He was part of an elite sniper platoon in the 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division.

As he and other marines approached the shore, the battle was so fierce, the marines could barely make out the smoke-shrouded island.

Days after landing, Corporal Saucerman and his 30-man platoon reached the frontlines. Only 10 returned. While Corporal Saucerman did not raise the Stars and Stripes on Mount Suribachi, he could see it waving high in the distance from his position down on the shoreline.

That American flag would not have flown over the island had Corporal Saucerman and his brother marines not been there fighting for it.

Weeks later, he led an operation to flush out Japanese riflemen who were hidden deep in caves. Wayne Saucerman was hit three times by enemy fire: a bullet to the right hand and two more in the left leg, one of which he carried the rest of his life.

The Purple Heart was Corporal Saucerman's reward for his bravery at Iwo Jima. The bullet in his leg was a lifelong reminder of the service to his country.

The sacrifices of those marines and sailors on Iwo Jima, men like Wayne Saucerman, saved the lives of 24,000 American air crewmen from a perilous fate in the waters of the Pacific and changed the tide of World War II. And then they came home. They built communities; they raised families; they continued to make history. In fact, for 35 years, Corporal Saucerman worked at Allison Transmission in Indianapolis, helping build the machines that took Americans across highways, into the air, and to the Moon.

Corporal Saucerman passed away on May 2. He was aged 97.

I rise today to give tribute to a life well lived in both heroic service to his country and dedicated service back home, a man who had great love for his family and friends and a Hoosier who was, in return, greatly loved.

His passing is a reminder that the ranks of our World War II veterans grow thinner by the day. They have saved civilization by simply doing their duty.

In what time we have, with what poor power each of us has, let us never forget or cease to thank these heroic veterans for doing their part.

Semper Fidelis.

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