E2200 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks October 2, 2008 

A WELL-DESERVED TRIBUTE TO 

THE REVEREND HOWARD M. 

HAYWOOD 

HON. BARNEY FRANK OF MASSACHUSETTS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, October 2, 2008 

Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Madam 

Speaker, on November 23rd, the congregation 

of the Myrtle Baptist Church, joined by many 

of the citizens of Newton, and indeed of the 

greater Boston area, will pay a bittersweet tribute to the Reverend Howard Haywood, commemorating the exemplary service he has provided to that congregation—and to the community at large—for more than two decades. 

Reverend Haywood took over as pastor of 

the Myrtle Baptist Church in 1985. His formal 

role ended in July of this year, and the many 

people that he served, comforted and inspired 

are gathering to honor him. At a time when 

questions of the appropriateness of the size of 

compensation have been an important topic in 

this House, I think it worthy of noting that Reverend Haywood took no compensation at all 

for the extraordinary work that he has done. 

Under his leadership, the Myrtle Baptist 

Church has become a source of help for people from all generations and walks of life. In 

the terrible aftermath of Katrina, when the 

Federal Government failed so many people, 

under the Reverend Haywood’s leadership the 

Myrtle Baptist Church did an extraordinary 

amount to provide the assistance that people 

needed. From this relatively small congregation, two truck loads of food, clothing and gifts 

were dispatched and noncongregate students 

from the surrounding colleges were so inspired by this that they joined the effort. 

While Howard Haywood’s works are truly 

impressive, the greatest gift he has given all of 

us is the example of a man of considerable 

talent dedicating that talent to bettering the 

lives of others and providing a wonderful example of religion and religious service at its 

best. 

Madam Speaker, I am glad to hold out to 

the Nation the example of Howard Haywood, 

and I look forward to participating in the event 

in which I and many others will tell him how 

much we appreciate his work. 

f 

SPEAKER PELOSI RECEIVES THE 

KNIGHT’S CROSS 

HON. JOHN B. LARSON OF CONNECTICUT

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, October 2, 2008 

Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Madam 

Speaker, I rise today to share with our colleagues the remarks made by the Italian Ambassador, the Honorable Giovanni 

Castellaneta, as he awarded you with the 

Knight’s Cross. The Knight’s Cross is the supreme decoration of the Order of Merit o the 

Republic of Italy and, as the highest ranking 

Italian-American in our Nation’s history, it is an 

honor which you richly deserve. I urge all of 

our colleagues to join me in congratulating you 

on the receipt of this high tribute from such an 

important ally and in thanking the Ambassador 

for recognizing the historic role you have 

played in the American story. 

AMBASSADOR GIOVANNI CASTELLANETA’S

REMARKS VILLA FIRENZE, SEPTEMBER 16, 2008 

‘‘..il vivere libero (...) propone onori e 

premii mediante alcune oneste e determinate 

ragioni, e fuora di quelle non premia ne ́

onora alcuno’’. Those are the words of the 

great Italian thinker, Nicolo` Machiavelli. 

Translation: ‘‘living free (...) offers honors 

and rewards for certain honest and specific 

reasons, and outside of these, honors and rewards none.’’ For Machiavelli rewarding 

merit, and not noble birth or riches—is the 

basis for ‘‘living free.’’ It is the very foundation of democracy, where the merits of individuals are affirmed unhindered and contributes to the progress of the Nation. 

There are no doubts of the merits of the 

Honorable Speaker of the House, Nancy 

Pelosi, garnered over the years of her public 

and political engagement. Years in which she 

emerged in the United States as a prominent 

political figure and a foremost representative of Italianicity. 

The roots of her political inclinations are 

clear. Speaker Pelosi was born to a family 

with a long history in political life. I recall 

seeing a picture of Nancy in the arms of her 

father, Thomas D’Alessandro, on the campaign trail that would lead him to the U.S. 

Congress representing the State of Maryland. 

He handed down his passion for politics to 

his children: Thomas D’Alessandro III followed in his footsteps in Baltimore, serving 

also as Mayor from 1967 to 1971. 

It was then to be Nancy’s turn. With such 

a background, how could she not heed the 

call? Her father’s bloodline and her Italian 

genes could lead nowhere else. This legacy 

was merged with the wholly Italian sentiment of building a fine family (her husband 

Paul, whom she met at Georgetown University, the five wonderful children, Nancy 

Corinne, Christine, Jacqueline, Paul and Alexandra) always supporting her decision to 

go into public service and embark on a career that would prove stellar. Let me mention two moments in that process: 

(1) Her designation in the Fall of 2002 as 

House Minority Leader for the Democrats, 

the first woman in U.S. history to hold this 

post. 

(2) Her current position as Speaker of the 

U.S. House of Representatives which, according to many, makes her the most powerful 

woman in the United States and perhaps in 

the world. 

I think the history of the D’AlessandroPelosi family is especially meaningful, mainly because it exemplifies and underlines the 

great contribution that Italians in America 

have made to the political edifice of this 

great country. 

It is a contribution that is part of the 

Italian gene: political beings ‘‘par excellence’’ from the birth of politics. The Romans took their lessons from the Greeks, 

transformed it into an art form, and passed 

it on genetically to the Italians of later generations. In the beginning I cited Machiavelli: Is it any wonder that the founder of 

modern political science was an Italian? 

Once in America, Italians adapted their 

calling and penchant for politics to this 

country, one they helped build in the thousand assemblies and congresses of the towns, 

cities, and states of this great Nation. A vocation that generations of Italian-Americans 

have knowingly and naturally expressed also 

in Washington, in Congress, wherever politics is spelled with a capital P. 

The Pelosi family is one example of how 

millions of Italian Americans have given 

their talent and their calling to help build 

its democratic conscience. 

Mark Twain used to say that ‘‘history 

never repeats itself but it does rhyme a lot.’’ 

And history will certainly continue the 

rhyme with the D’Alessandro-Pelosi family. 

Nancy’s father, Thomas, also received the 

distinction that I will be bestowing upon her 

this evening. For two members of the same 

family to be awarded the highest decoration 

of the Republic of Italy is rare indeed. 

And the similarities do not stop there. The 

D’Alessandro lived on Albemarle Street in 

Baltimore. Tonight we find ourselves on Albemarle Street in Washington, so in a way 

we are reconnecting to Nancy Pelosi’s childhood. 

I would lastly remind of the profound 

meaning that the bestowal of this honor 

holds for my country. It is an expression of 

appreciation that Italy extends, tonight in 

the person of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to all 

the Italian-Americans that continue to feel a 

strong bond with their country of origin and 

whose personal and professional lives are 

animated by the ‘‘Italian spirit’’ that sets us 

apart. 

Now wherefore, on behalf of the President 

of the Republic and of all the people of Italy, 

I hereby induct Nancy Patricia D’Alessandro 

Pelosi into the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy (OMRI) with the degree of 

‘‘Knight of the Grand Cross’’ that recognizes 

merits to the Nation in the sciences, letters, 

economics and public service and in activities with social, philanthropic and humanitarian purposes, as well as far-reaching and 

distinguished contributions while in public 

and military service. 

f 

HONORING JOE HARATANI 

HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, October 2, 2008 

Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I rise 

today to thank Joe Haratani for his humanitarian efforts and his service to this country. 

Mr. Haratani was acknowledged Wednesday, 

October 1, 2008 in his home town of Sonora, 

CA. 

Joe Haratani was born in Florin, a rural 

farming community in northern California, to 

Japanese parents in October 1923. He was 

one of seven children and his father was a 

Methodist minister. In the fall of 1941 Mr. 

Haratani enrolled at Modesto Junior College. 

While attending school he worked as a house 

boy for a Caucasian family. Shortly after the 

attack on Pearl Harbor, he was let go from his 

job. Within weeks, the U.S. Government restricted the movement of all Japanese and 

Japanese descendants, forbidding them to 

travel more than 5 miles away from home. On 

February 19, 1942, when President Franklin 

D. Roosevelt authorized Executive Order 

9066, Mr. Haratani, along with approximately 

110,000 other people with Japanese ancestry 

on the West Coast, was forced into 1 of 10 internment camps across the country. 

Mr. Haratani and his family were taken to 

the Merced Fairgrounds, known then as the 

Merced Assembly Center. The shelter consisted of a tar paper shack until September 

when they were moved by train to the Amache 

Relocation Center in southeast Colorado. The 

camp in Colorado was surrounded by barbed 

wire and armed guards. The internees were 

largely left alone to live their lives and fend for 

themselves. Many of the people had farming 

backgrounds, so they began to plant vegetables and trees for food and shade. Mr. 

Haratani found a job as dishwasher where he 

earned about $12 dollars per month. 


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