E670 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks March 16, 2009 Stanislaus Counties and participates in the As the mission advanced, Major Vujnovich’s ried in Saint Thomas Aquinas Church in Tuolumne County Schools Forestry Institute experience and expertise were indispensable. Springfield. Martin became a member of the for Teachers and presents to civic groups and Major Vujnovich was responsible for selecting John Boyle O’Reilly Club in 1953 and now organizations. They also sponsor various pub- members of the Halyard Mission, and orches- both Martin and Eleanor are life members. lic forums on issues related to natural re- trating the initial parachute drop into the area. The John Boyle O’Reilly Club was founded sources and is represented at the annual Alli- The rescue plans hinged on his direction and in 1880. The club consists of dedicated Irish ance on American Fly-in for Freedom forum the ability of local Serbs to build an airstrip and Irish-Americans whose goal is to preserve held in Washington, DC. The organization pre- without any modern tools and without German and promote their Irish heritage. The club’s pares press releases for all media outlets and detection. motto is culture, family and tradition. Since meets with local, state and federal elected offi- took place between Au- March 1970, the club has been located on 33 cials regarding issues of concern. gust and December 1944 and was a complete Progress Avenue in Springfield, Massachu- Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend success. Hundreds of men were rescued be- setts. Today, the club is very active in their and congratulate Tuolumne County Alliance hind enemy lines and no lives were lost in the community, awarding the John Boyle O’Reilly for Resources and Environment, Inc. on twen- mission. The Halyard Mission was a success Scholarship every year to college-bound stu- ty years of service. I invite my colleagues to thanks to the brave men and women of the dents. join me in wishing TuCARE many years of OSS and the courageous Serbian locals who f continued success. risked their lives to safeguard American air- HONORING RABBI JON E. CUTLER f men. Thanks to a keen mind and tactical ex- pertise, Major Vujnovich demonstrated the HONORING courage and selflessness that mark him as an HON. PATRICK J. MURPHY FOR HIS PARTICIPATION IN THE American hero. OF HALYARD MISSION Major George Vujnovich was born to Ser- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES bian parents in 1915. In 1934 he received a Monday, March 16, 2009 HON. JOSEPH CROWLEY scholarship from the Serb National Federation OF and left his home in New York to attend col- Mr. PATRICK J. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES lege in . While living in Belgrade, Mr. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Rabbi Jon E. Cutler—the only Jewish Chaplain cur- Monday, March 16, 2009 Vujnovich met and married his wife, Mirjana. Their life was disrupted in 1941, when the rently serving in western Iraq. And as a former Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, I am German Luftwaffe bombed Belgrade in Oper- paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division who joined by the co-chairs of the Congressional ation Punishment. Mr. Vujnovich was a first- served in Baghdad 5 years ago and the first Serbian Caucus, Representatives MELISSA hand witness to the bombing, nearly losing his Iraq war veteran to serve in this great body, it BEAN of Illinois and DAN BURTON of Indiana, in life when a falling bomb destroyed a nearby fills me with tremendous pride to be Rabbi honoring a treasured constituent of mine and streetcar. After the bombing, Mr. and Mrs. Cutler’s Congressman. Rabbi Cutler has set one of the unsung heroes of World War II, re- Vujnovich fled Yugoslavia, and he accepted a an example for all of us—not just through his tired Major George Vujnovich. Major job in as assistant airport manager spiritual leadership—but through selfless serv- Vujnovich, a proud Serbian-American, was in- while Mirjana moved to Washington, DC to ice to our community and our nation. strumental in ‘‘Operation Halyard’’ and one of work at the Yugoslav Embassy. When the US In Iraq, Rabbi Cutler serves as the 3rd Ma- the last surviving members of that successful entered the war, Mr. Vujnovich received a rine Aircraft Wing Chaplain, and assists the wartime mission. commission as a second and as- entire Al Asad Marine Air Base. Prior to his In the summer of 1944, Americans and Al- sumed command of an airbase in . service in Iraq, Rabbi Cutler served as the pul- lied airmen flew hundreds of sorties over Eu- While working at the airbase, he was recruited pit rabbi of Tiferes B’nai Israel in Warrington, rope with the aim of disrupting the Ploesti oil by the OSS for the clandestine services, and Bucks County, Pennsylvania for the past 8 complex, Adolf Hitler’s most important oil pipe- was later sent to the OSS post in , . years. line. During their treacherous journey from From this post he saved the lives of his fellow As the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Chaplain, Italian bases to the Romanian oil complex, servicemen and earned the title of hero. I am Rabbi Cutler supervises 20 Christian chaplains 1,500 of our brave men were forced to bail out honored to have this opportunity to acknowl- and chaplain assistants, and has worked to over Yugoslavia. Scores of American crewmen edge Major Vujnovich’s contribution to the Hal- create a center for Jewish troops who are were trapped behind enemy lines and depend- yard Mission. serving in Anbar Province. The congregants of ent on Serbian villagers to hide them from the Tiferes B’nai Israel even contributed to this ef- f Germans. fort, sending tiles and paste to be used for the Although Yugoslavia was enemy territory at IN CELEBRATION OF MARTIN J. chapel floor. the time, much of the country’s Serbian re- AND ELEANOR R. KEARNEY As the Rabbi for Tiferes B’nai Israel in War- gions remained under the control of Yugoslav rington, Rabbi Cutler worked tirelessly to unite guerilla resistance leader General Draja HON. RICHARD E. NEAL his congregants, both old and new. He strived Mihailovich and his Chetnik forces. General OF MASSACHUSETTS to make new members feel welcome while re- Mihailovich remained loyal to the Allies, and IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES specting the needs and wishes of long-stand- under his orders the Serbian people shielded ing members. Before he was deployed to Iraq, these airmen and protected them from capture Monday, March 16, 2009 he also proudly received his Navy commander and imprisonment by German troops. Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Madam Speak- pins on the pulpit at Tiferes B’nai Israel. General Mihailovich passed information er, I would like to acknowledge Martin J. and Commander Cutler has been a chaplain in about the downed American airmen to the Eleanor R. Kearney for being named the Irish the U.S. Navy Reserve for 23 years. He was authorities. The Office of Stra- Couple of the Year by the John Boyle O’Reilly the only Jewish chaplain serving with the Ma- tegic Services (OSS) put together Operation Club in Springfield, Massachusetts. They were rines in Desert Storm, and after 9/11, he was Halyard, a daring mission to save the men awarded this deserved title on February 7, called to the Pentagon to counsel family mem- without drawing the attention of the Nazis. The 2009 for their support and contributions to the bers who lost loved ones during the tragic mission entailed flying and landing C–47 cargo club. The couple has been active with the club events of that terrible day. planes into enemy territory, picking up the for over fifty years. Both have helped with When not serving our troops in Iraq or his downed airmen, and flying back to allied terri- fundraisers and dances. Eleanor is an avid congregants in Warrington, Rabbi Cutler has tory. Before the mission could go forward, baker for the club and Martin was a strong served as an instructor at Gratz College for however, the Allied forces cut ties with Gen- supporter of the new building fund. A recep- Jewish education and a visiting professor at eral Mihailovich and no longer had specific in- tion dinner was held in their honor on March Philadelphia University. He received his B.A. formation about the location of the American 1, 2009. and M.A. in religious studies from Temple Uni- airmen. Major George Vujnovich, the OSS op- Martin was born in the Great Blaskett Is- versity, and holds a Doctor of Ministry in Pas- eration chief stationed in Bari, Italy, discovered lands in Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland on De- toral Counseling from Hebrew Union College. that Mihailovich was hiding the airmen near cember 31, 1926. Eleanor is a life-long Spring- Rabbi Cutler was ordained by the Reconstruc- his headquarters in the city of Pranjani. He in- field resident who was born on December 17, tionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote, PA. formed U.S. officials of their location and Op- 1932. Martin came to America in 1951 where Rabbi Cutler has contributed enormously to eration Halyard progressed. he soon met Eleanor. In 1953, they were mar- the citizens of Bucks County and given so

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