2720 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE, Vol. 157, Pt. 2 February 28, 2011 education, Fleetwood was promoted to rican-American graduate of the U.S. yard. Each spring, when warmer weath- sergeant upon enlisting, and sergeant Naval Academy. er came, the rolling hills of farmland major just a few days later. As part of Christian Fleetwood embodied every- and hollows provided Earle with the the 4th Regiment United States Col- thing Americans revere. His actions in perfect setting to develop a love for ored Infantry, he would see action in the 4th Regiment from Baltimore, MD, America’s pastime. the Virginia and North Carolina cam- earned him the military’s highest But, as he grew older, he decided his paigns in the 10th, 18th and 25th Army honor. He was selfless, brave, a fierce calling in life was to teach. In 1917, Corps, and would distinguish himself fighter for the abolition of slavery, and Earle left his hometown of Pebworth to valorously at Chaffin’s Farm, on the chose to dedicate his free life to service attend Eastern Kentucky State Normal outskirts of Richmond, VA, on Sep- of his country and his community. School, now Eastern Kentucky Univer- tember 29, 1864. f sity, and received his teaching certifi- At the age of 24, SGM Christian cate in 1919. To help pay for his edu- Fleetwood stood a mere 5 feet, 4.5 TRIBUTE TO TAHIS CASTRO cation, Earle returned to eastern Ken- inches tall. Nonetheless, while march- Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today tucky to teach in one-room schools in ing on Confederate fortifications he to honor Tahis Castro, who is retiring Kentucky towns like Ida May and Levi. witnessed Alfred B. Hilton, a fellow sol- after 17 years of serving Nevadans as That was until destiny had other plans. dier, fall wounded while carrying the an organizer for the Culinary Workers In 1918 after a faculty-student base- American flag and the Regimental Union. ball game, Earle’s abilities caught the Standard, which Hilton himself had re- Tahis came to Reno from Costa Rica eye of Dr. Charles Keith, an Eastern trieved from a wounded comrade. Rush- in 1987. In 1994, she cofounded and orga- Kentucky State Normal School dean ing forward under withering fire, nized Hotel Employees and Restaurant and former pro player, who rec- Fleetwood and another soldier named Employees Local 86, which represented ommended he try out for Eastern’s Charles Veale caught both banners be- over 900 culinary workers throughout team. After successfully landing a spot fore they brushed the ground. Now Reno. Since that time, she has helped on the team, Earle’s talent on the field bearing the American flag, Fleetwood negotiate improvements in health care started to gain him some much-de- carried the attack forward, but re- benefits, wages, job security, and train- served attention. In the summer of treated once it became clear that the ing for thousands of working families 1921, after his last season on Eastern’s unit did not have sufficient strength to in Nevada. team, Earle played semiprofessional penetrate the defenses. Returning Tahis has always been a dedicated baseball in several Kentucky towns through enemy fire to the reserve line, and tireless promoter of justice, re- until he was offered a contract with Fleetwood used his standard to rally a spect, and dignity for all workers. She the Louisville Colonels. determined group of men and renewed has been instrumental in the growth of During his 2 years with the Colonels, the attack on the battlements. Local 86, which merged with Las Earle’s miraculous talent earned him In a fight where the 4th and 6th Regi- Vegas’ Culinary Workers Union Local his career-long reputation as a line- ments of U.S. Colored Troops sustained 226 to represent a total of 60,000 work- drive hitter with reckless base-stealing casualties reaching 50 percent, ers in Nevada today. In addition, she ability. In 1924, this reputation trav- Fleetwood refused to give up. For these has served on the executive board of eled north all the way to New York, actions and their contribution to vic- the Nevada State AFL–CIO. where the New York Yankees bought tory at Chaffin’s Farm, Fleetwood, Tahis has also been influential in the young and talented Earle for along with Veale and Hilton, were representing Nevadans in the political $50,000. awarded the Medal of Honor. sphere. In 2008, she was chosen as one In the years that followed, Earle be- Fleetwood’s official Medal of Honor ci- of the State’s five delegates to the came a leadoff hitter for the famed tation reads simply: ‘‘Seized the colors, Electoral College, and she has been in- Yankees ‘‘Murderers Row,’’ a lineup of after 2 color bearers had been shot strumental in promoting voter partici- the late 1920s and early 1930s, and a down, and bore them nobly through the pation among Nevada’s Latino citizens. member of the 1927 World Champion- fight.’’ Every officer in Fleetwood’s I am pleased to stand today to com- ship Yankees team where he played regiment, all white men, submitted a mend Tahis for all she has accom- alongside other greats by the names of petition to the War Department to plished, and all she will continue to Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. He was er- have him commissioned an officer, a achieve. Along with the Culinary rorless in the 16 World Series games in sure sign of the respect felt by all who Workers Union, I congratulate Tahis which he played throughout his career, witnessed his gallantry. for her concerted effort and her career and ended with a career batting aver- The medal is now part of the collec- of dedicated service. age of .325. tion of the Smithsonian’s National Mu- f Earle retired in 1935 after sustaining seum of American History, and appears a brutal outfield injury the year before, in the exhibit entitled ‘‘The Price of REMEMBERING EARLE B. COMBS but remained a coach for the Yankees Freedom.’’ The medal’s inclusion in the Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I until 1944, during which he trained Smithsonian exhibit is also unique. rise today to honor the remarkable life other baseball greats such as Joe Fleetwood’s daughter Edith Fleetwood and career of one of baseball’s greatest DiMaggio. He was named to the Na- donated his medal to the Smithsonian legends, and a native of the Common- tional Baseball Hall of Fame in Coop- Institute’s National Museum in 1948. wealth, the late Mr. Earle B. Combs. erstown, NY, in 1970. The Smithsonian accepted the medal, Known far and wide to fans as the Ken- Earle coached for several other teams making Christian Fleetwood the first tucky Greyhound, the Silver Fox and before returning to Madison County African-American veteran to be so hon- the Kentucky Colonel, Earle was a where he served as a banking commis- ored. prime example of a gentleman who sioner during Governor A.B. Chandler’s The Civil War did not call an end to knew the value of hard work and deter- second administration and on Eastern Christian Fleetwood’s service, though mination. Kentucky University’s board of regents he was discharged honorably on May 4, Earle began his journey to greatness for 19 years, serving as chairman for 2 1866. Fleetwood would go on to orga- as a child on his father’s farm in of those years. Earle was a leader both nize a battalion of the D.C. National Pebworth, Owsley County, KY, where on and off the diamond. He was known Guardsmen, and, in the 1880s, formed he and his siblings would play pickup as a loving family man, a successful Washington, DC’s Colored High School games with homemade baseballs con- businessman, and above all, a true gen- Cadet Corps, which counted among its structed out of leather and rubber tleman. He was a devoted father and graduates Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., the trimmings from old, worn-out shoes grandfather and a loyal husband to his Nation’s first African-American gen- and tightly wound string, and bats childhood sweetheart, the late Ruth eral, and Wesley A. Brown, the first Af- made with tree limbs found around the Combs. VerDate Mar 15 2010 07:38 Feb 27, 2014 Jkt 099102 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 0686 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR11\S28FE1.001 S28FE1 rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BOUND RECORD February 28, 2011 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE, Vol. 157, Pt. 2 2721 He valued hard-work and knew the are of grandfather,’’ said Craig Combs, who ed,’’ according to the Earle B. Combs official importance of higher education. There was accompanied by his sons, John. 17, who website. is no question that Earle was someone plans to study vocal music at the University A favorite of Yankee fans, nicknames be- stowed upon him included ‘‘Kentucky Grey- who forever changed the game of base- of Louisville, and Christopher, 22, who played baseball at Madison Central, grad- hound,’’ ‘‘Silver Fox’’ and ‘‘Kentucky Colo- ball, who left an impression on those uated from the University of Evansville and nel.’’ After an injury, he retired in 1935 and he taught, and who left a lasting leg- is currently working on his Ph.D. at the Uni- coached for the team until 1944. The first acy in both his community and versity of Texas in aerospace engineering. year he coached, he trained his replacement, throughout the Commonwealth. Earle B. Combs has had many honors be- Joe DiMaggio. He coached for several other The Booneville Sentinel recently stowed upon him, but for his grandson, this teams before retiring in the mid-1950s and re- published an article introducing a new one is especially meaningful.