E2376 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks December 10, 2008 

RECOGNITION OF JUDGE 

NICHOLAS 

HON. JIM GERLACH OF PENNSYLVANIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 

Mr. GERLACH. Madam Speaker, I rise 

today to honor the Honorable William T. Nicholas who is retiring after faithfully serving the 

people of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 

as a judge and prosecutor for nearly 40 years. 

Judge Nicholas’ distinguished public service 

career started as a prosecutor in the District 

Attorney’s Office in 1968. He was elected 

Montgomery County District Attorney in 1976 

before winning a judgeship in the Montgomery 

County Court of Common Pleas in 1980. For 

the past eight years, Judge Nicholas has 

served as Administrative Judge of the Criminal 

Division. 

Judge Nicholas earned praise from his 

peers as a skilled litigator and a wise, impartial jurist who issued more than 500 rulings 

during his exemplary years of service on the 

bench. Innovation was another hallmark of 

Judge Nicholas’ tenure. He is credited with instituting a Discovery Master Program to improve the efficiency of the court system and 

implementing a security system at the Montgomery County Courthouse. 

Madam Speaker, I ask that my colleagues 

join me today in recognizing the outstanding 

service and extraordinary career of the Honorable William T. Nicholas and all who dedicate 

their careers to the pursuit of justice. 

f 

RECOGNIZING THE HONORABLE 

STEVE CHABOT ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT FROM 

THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

HON. JO BONNER OF ALABAMA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 

Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, I rise today 

to honor the distinguished career of the Honorable STEVE CHABOT for his service to the 

people of Ohio and the United States House 

of Representatives. Congressman CHABOT has 

represented the First Congressional District of 

the state of Ohio for the past 14 years. 

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, STEVE

graduated from La Salle High School and 

worked his way through the College of William 

and Mary. He returned to Cincinnati after college to teach in a downtown elementary 

school during the day and attend the Salmon 

P. Chase College of Law at night. After completing his law degree, STEVE opened his own 

neighborhood law practice, and his father 

worked as his assistant. 

Before he was elected to the U.S. House of 

Representatives, STEVE served as a Cincinnati 

City Council Member for five years, followed 

by a five-year term on the Hamilton County 

Board of Commissioners. When STEVE was 

elected to the U.S. House of Representatives 

in 1994, he was named to the influential Foreign Affairs, Judiciary, and Small Business 

Committees. In 2007, STEVE became the top 

Republican on the Small Business Committee, 

where he focused on permitting small businesses to band together to obtain affordable 

health insurance for their workers. 

On the Judiciary Committee, STEVE served 

as chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution from 2001 to 2006, from which post 

he promoted proposals to amend the Constitution to ban flag desecration, outlaw same-sex 

marriage, require a balanced budget, protect 

the rights of crime victims, and allow prayer 

and religious symbols to be displayed on public property. 

Consistently rated as one of the most protaxpayer members of Congress, STEVE was 

known as one of Congress’s leading advocates for fiscal responsibility. 

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join 

me in recognizing a dedicated leader and 

friend to many in this body. I know his family, 

his wife, Donna; his two children; and his 

many friends and colleagues join me in honoring his accomplishments and extending 

thanks for his service over the years on behalf 

of the state of Ohio and the United States of 

America. 

STEVE will surely enjoy the well deserved 

time he now has to spend with his family and 

loved ones. I wish him the best of luck in all 

his future endeavors. 

f 

HONORING MR. THOMAS LITTRELL 

OF PLAINVILLE, KS 

HON. JERRY MORAN OF KANSAS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Madam Speaker, I 

rise today to recognize Thomas Littrell of 

Plainville, KS. This recognition is not just long 

overdue, it is 38 years overdue. Tom Littrell, 

like many Vietnam veterans, may not consider 

himself a hero. Today it is my privilege to 

share the story of an unsung hero, my friend 

and fellow Kansan, Tom Littrell. 

When Tom was sent to serve in Vietnam as 

a young soldier, he left behind his family and 

friends in Plainville and headed to a combat 

zone in Southeast Asia. As a member of the 

second platoon of the 919th Combat Engineers attached to the 11th Armored Calvary 

Regiment, Tom joined a new family—one 

forged by shared service in an unfamiliar territory. 

He began his tour of duty by courageously 

volunteered as a driver of an APC tank. His 

fellow platoon member, Doug Giesige, describes Tom’s job as ‘‘the most vulnerable a 

man could routinely do in our unit. Our enemies would place their land mines on the 

side of the road that corresponded with the 

driver’s side of the track. Our drivers would be 

located directly over such explosions and as 

such, they would suffer the most casualties 

and injuries of any of us on these tracks. It 

was hard to demand that a man do this every 

day, thus all were doing this as willing volunteers. It takes a special breed of man to do 

this job. Knowing that he was as vulnerable as 

you can be, day in and day out. They all tended to be hard working and pretty hard nosed 

and reliable. Stubborn, actually.’’ 

Tom also served as a demolitionist and 

mine sweeper. He and his fellow soldiers experienced ambush and encountered land 

mines regularly. During this time, Tom was involved in five incidents where his tank hit landmines. While some soldiers were sent to the 

rear and treated for their injuries following 

such incidents, Tom was not. As driver of the 

tank, he knew the importance of his role. He 

was treated in the field for his injuries and 

went back to work. His sense of duty to his 

fellow soldiers meant more to him than his 

own comfort. As Doug Giesige recalled, ‘‘On 

April 2, 1970 our platoon was involved with a 

24-hour ordeal that cost us multiple injuries. 

The final action of the day involved our track 

hitting a mine and being the focus of an ambush just after dark. All of us were blown off 

the track except Tom and Lieutenant 

Livinggood. Sometime during the firefight, Tom 

went out after Staff Sergeant Russell under 

heavy fire and dragged him back to the track.’’ 

Tom exemplified the best of those who 

serve our country—sacrifice, courage, and 

bravery. Tom would tell you he was just doing 

his job when he served in Vietnam, but to the 

men he served with. it was more than that. 

Madam Speaker, please join me in recognizing Tom Littrell’s courageous service today. 

We also acknowledge the support of his wife 

of 36 years, Charlotte, and their children, 

Jason, Amanda and Renee. And although it is 

decades past its due, we offer a few simple 

words to Mr. Thomas Littrell of Plainville, KS. 

Thank you, my friend, thank you. 

f 

RECOGNIZING THE HONORABLE 

PHIL ENGLISH ON THE OCCASION 

OF HIS RETIREMENT FROM THE 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

HON. JO BONNER OF ALABAMA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 

Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, I rise today 

to honor the distinguished career of the Honorable PHIL ENGLISH for his service to the people of Pennsylvania and the United States 

House of Representatives. Congressman 

ENGLISH has represented the Third Congressional District of the State of Pennsylvania for 

the past 14 years. 

A lifelong resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, 

PHIL graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1979. His interest in politics began 

when he was young. At just the age of 20, he 

served as an alternate delegate to the 1976 

Republican National Convention. 

PHIL began his career in public service as a 

legislative aide in the Pennsylvania General 

Assembly. In 1985, he was elected as Erie 

City Controller, the first Republican elected to 

citywide office in 20 years. After his term as 

controller, PHIL helped design the campaign 

for Rick Santorum’s upset win to the U.S. 

Senate. PHIL then served as chief of staff for 

then State Senator Melissa Hart until he ran 

for an open House seat in 1994. 

Known for his knowledge and experience 

with tax issues, PHIL was appointed to the 

powerful Ways and Means Committee in his 

first year in Congress, becoming the first 

freshman Republican appointed to the committee in almost 30 years. 

Throughout his service to Pennsylvania and 

the United States, PHIL has fought hard for 

measures to increase the child tax credit, accelerate the reduction of income tax rates, encourage household savings, eliminate the individual and corporate Alternative Minimum Tax