[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 53 (Tuesday, April 14, 2015)] [House] [Page H2165] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] REMEMBERING IRVING SMOLENS (Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.) Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Irving Smolens: a soldier, a father, a husband, an American hero. And I am very proud to call him my friend. Irving Smolens was a World War II veteran who survived D-Day, where he served with the U.S. Army 4th Infantry Division. He came home just short of his 21st birthday in 1945 to a country he loved deeply, and he helped build a community in Melrose, Massachusetts. Irving took his experiences from the darkest moments of our past and advocated for a better, more peaceful world. Up until he left us on Saturday at the age of 90, you could still catch up with Irving at the Melrose schools, where he would recount stories of the Allied invasion in World War II for hundreds of middle schoolers at our assemblies, and he taught thousands in our classrooms. He recently became a chevalier with the French Legion of Honor, and he was a regular at Democratic events and campaigns. He served as president of the Temple Beth Shalom in Melrose, and he was an avid jazz enthusiast and sports fan. He watched every one of the 19 innings of last week's Red Sox-Yankees game. He was quick to pen a letter to the Boston Globe and recently took to blogging in his late eighties and to social media. Not only did he comment on politics, but he helped reconnect veterans' families with their fathers' histories. This past fall, 70 years after Irving stepped onto the beaches of Normandy to fight the Nazis, he returned. This time he would be met by both the American President and the French President in recognition of his valor and patriotism. He was seen by a journalist, who said after the President had delivered a long speech, he was stopped by an old soldier who gave him a piece of his mind. When the journalist caught up with Irving and asked what he had to say to President Obama, Irving replied: ``I thanked him for keeping us out of war.'' Our thoughts and prayers are with Irving and his family, especially his wife, Edith, and daughter, Karen. We are so proud to have known him and for his service. ____________________