[Pages S7388-S7389]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

GENERAL LOUIS H. WILSON, JR.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, this morning the Washington Post carries
an article about the death of GEN Louis Wilson who was a former
Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on June 21 at his home in
Birmingham, AL. He was a native of my State of Mississippi and was a
personal friend and a great soldier and a wonderful Commandant of the
U.S. Marine Corps. He and his wife Jane lived here in Washington in the
Marine barracks, the Commandant's residence, and befriended my wife
Rose and me when I was a young Member of Congress before I was elected
to the Senate. He was serving as Commandant of the Marine Corps.
We enjoyed many opportunities to visit with them when they were
resident in Washington. He was a very distinguished officer in the
Marine Corps during World War II. He was given the congressional Medal
of Honor for gallantry during his service in the battle in Guam on
Fonte Hill. The description of his exploits and gallantry are contained
in the citation that was issued when he was awarded the Congressional
Medal of Honor.
The article talks about his career in glowing terms, a well-earned
tribute for a courageous and brave soldier, and the first Marine Corps
Commandant to serve as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He
established a tradition when he was selected to serve on the Joint
Chiefs of Staff which is carried on today. It was because of his strong
leadership and his example that there is no question that a good
decision was made to include in the Joint Chiefs of Staff the
Commandant of the Marine Corps.
We mourn his passing, but we rejoice in the great life he lived and
the inspiration that his career provided to marines in all of the
succeeding generations of service in the U.S. Marine Corps.
I ask unanimous consent that the article in today's Washington Post
and a copy of the citation for Louis Hugh Wilson, Jr., upon his being
awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:

[From the Washington Post, Jun. 24, 2005]

Gen. Louis Wilson Dies; Awarded Medal of Honor

(By Adam Bernstein)

Gen. Louis H. Wilson Jr., 85, who received the Medal of
Honor for taking and holding a key position on Guam during
World War II and later served as commandant of the Marine
Corps, died June 21 at his home in Birmingham. He had a
degenerative nerve disorder.
On July 1, 1975, Gen. Wilson became the 26th commandant of
the Marine Corps. He was the first commandant to serve full
time on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, providing the corps with a
greater say on defense matters.
During his four-year tenure, he was credited with shaping a
post-Vietnam corps of strong expeditionary units ready for
``high mobility and high-intensity combat.'' He made
personnel changes to raise morale and address disciplinary
problems.
He increased academic enlistment standards (he wanted 75
percent of recruits to have high school diplomas); ordered
the discharge of thousands of Marines with discipline
problems; and offered tougher directives on weight
requirements. ``Obesity must vanish,'' he said and set for
himself a daily jogging regimen.
As commandant, he had a reputation for being blunt,
thoughtful and refreshing. He publicly acknowledged the
brutal treatment of recruits by some drill instructors and
tried to change the policies that granted drill instructors
``too much autonomy. ``
In 1975, he told an interviewer that the Vietnam War had
been fought in vain from a military view-point.
He also castigated draft laws that ``had been gerrymandered
so that only the poor, the blacks and disadvantaged were
really drafted. A great many fine young men came in. But many
draftees, thrown in with them, were the dregs of society
[and] many with continuing dissatisfaction with the war.''
``It's not like the old days,'' he added, ``when you could
leave your wallet on your sack.''
The Mississippi native was an effective witness on Capitol
Hill, prepared and authoritative in his bearing. Earlier, he
had been a corps liaison to Congress. He was a favorite of
Sen. John C. Stennis (D-Miss.), head of the Senate Armed
Services Committee, who became his advocate for full
membership on the Joint Chiefs of Staff in October 1978.
Previously, Marine Corp commandants attended meetings of
the Joint Chiefs only when there was business of pressing
concern to the corps.
Louis Hugh Wilson Jr. was born Feb. 11, 1920, in Brandon,
Miss. His father was a farmer who died when Louis was 5. He
was raised by his mother, and her large, extended family
helped them through the Depression.
As a young man, he sold vegetables from a goat cart. He
later studied economics at Millsaps College in Jackson,
Miss., where he played football and was on the track team. A
Marine Corps recruiter who came to campus persuaded him to
enter the service after his graduation in 1941.
He landed at Guadalcanal, Efate and Bougainville and
received the Medal of Honor, the military's highest award for
valor, while fighting Japanese forces at Fonte Hill, Guam, on
July 25 and 26, 1944. At the time, he was a captain and the
commanding officer; of a rifle company.
Launching a daylight attack against massive machine gun
resistance, he pushed his men 300 yards across open terrain
and captured a portion of a hill that contained the enemy
command post. That night, he took command of other
disorganized units and motorized equipment and fortified
defenses while risking exposure to enemy fire.
Wounded three times within five hours, he briefly sought
treatment before volunteering to return to duty to defend
against counterattacks that lasted through the night.
At one point, he dashed 50 yards through flying shrapnel
and bullets to rescue a wounded Marine beyond the front
lines. That was followed by hand-to-hand fighting over a 10-
hour span, repelling Japanese troops that sought to overrun
the Allied lines through 11 full-fledged attacks.
His Medal of Honor citation continued: ``Then organizing a
17-man patrol, he immediately advanced upon a strategic slope
essential to the security of his position and, boldly defying
intense mortar, machinegun, and rifle fire which struck down
13 of his men, drove relentlessly forward with the remnants
of his patrol to seize the vital ground.''
He was credited with a pivotal role in the victory, which
included the deaths of 350 Japanese troops. President Harry
S. Truman presented him with the Medal of Honor on Oct. 5,
1945.
After the war, he held recruiting and command assignments,
graduated from the National War College and served as
assistant chief of staff to the 1st Marine Division in
Vietnam during the war there.
He was promoted to brigadier general in 1966 and, after
being appointed lieutenant general in 1972, assumed command
of the Marine force in the Pacific. His decorations included
three awards of the Legion of Merit.
After retiring from the military in 1979, he served on the
corporate boards of such businesses as Merrill Lynch, the
financial services company, and Fluor Corp., an engineering
and construction company.
Survivors include his wife of 61 years, Jane Clark Wilson,
and a daughter, Janet Taylor, both of Birmingham; and two
grandsons.
____

Wilson, Louis Hugh, Jr.

Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Marine Corps,
Commanding Rifle Company, 2d Battalion, 9th Marines, 3d
Marine Division. Place and date: Fonte Hill, Guam, 25-26 July
1944. Entered service at: Mississippi. Born: 11 February
1920, Brandon, Miss. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call
of duty as commanding officer of a rifle company attached to
the 2d Battalion, 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division, in action
against enemy Japanese forces at Fonte Hill, Guam, 25-26 July
1944. Ordered to take that portion of the hill within his
zone of action, Capt. Wilson initiated his attack in mid-
afternoon, pushed up the rugged, open terrain against
terrific machinegun and rifle fire for 300 yards and
successfully captured the objective. Promptly assuming
command of other disorganized units and motorized equipment
in addition to his own company and reinforcing platoon, he
organized his night defenses in the face of continuous
hostile fire and, although wounded 3 times during this 5-hour
period, completed his disposition of men and guns before
retiring to the company command post for medical attention.
Shortly thereafter, when the enemy launched the first of a
series of savage counterattacks lasting all night, he
voluntarily rejoined his besieged units and repeatedly
exposed himself to the merciless hail of shrapnel and
bullets, dashing 50 yards into the open on 1 occasion to
rescue a wounded marine lying helpless beyond the frontlines.
Fighting fiercely in hand-to-hand encounters, he led his men
in furiously waged battle for approximately 10 hours,
tenaciously holding his line and repelling the fanatically
renewed counterthrusts until he succeeded in crushing the
last efforts of the hard-pressed Japanese early the following
morning. Then

[[Page S7389]]

organizing a 17-man patrol, he immediately advanced upon a
strategic slope essential to the security of his position
and, boldly defying intense mortar, machinegun, and rifle
fire which struck down 13 of his men, drove relentlessly
forward with the remnants of his patrol to seize the vital
ground. By his indomitable leadership, daring combat tactics,
and valor in the face of overwhelming odds, Capt. Wilson
succeeded in capturing and holding the strategic high ground
in his regimental sector, thereby contributing essentially to
the success of his regimental mission and to the annihilation
of 350 Japanese troops. His inspiring conduct throughout the
critical periods of this decisive action sustains and
enhances the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

Mr. COCHRAN. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

____________________