October 3, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E2223 

Workers Union and at St. John’s Hospital’s 

emergency department, the Steinway Senior 

Center, and P.S. 7 and P.S. 126; 

Charlene Perno, a Registered Nurse who 

serves on the Board of SHAREing & 

CAREing, as coordinator of New York Hospital 

of Queens’ health fair, and who provides 

health education to local high schools; 

Linda Ann Vinci-Perno, an Astoria native 

who has volunteered for the Boy’s Club of 

Queens, Ladies Auxiliary, President of St. 

Margaret Mary Rosary Society, and the Long 

Island chapter of Cancer Care; and 

Eartha Washington, who serves as Chair of 

the Board of Elmhurst Hospital and is active 

with the New York City Department for the 

Aging Advisory Board, SHAREing & CAREing, 

the Kiwanis Club, and the Astoria Civic Association. 

I ask that my distinguished colleagues join 

me in paying tribute to these outstanding individuals for their extraordinary commitment to 

serving others. 

f 

HONORING DR. JAMES P. COMER 

HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY OF INDIANA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, October 3, 2008 

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Madam Speaker, it is with 

great pleasure and honor that I take this time 

to recognize one of the most influential and renowned individuals to emerge from Northwest 

Indiana. Dr. James P. Comer, M.D., M.P.H., 

has made many distinguished contributions to 

the field of child psychiatry throughout his 

prestigious career, and I take this time to welcome him back to Northwest Indiana, where 

he will serve as the keynote speaker for the 

2008 Parent University on Saturday, October 

11, 2008, at East Chicago Central High 

School in East Chicago, Indiana. This extraordinary event is sponsored by the School City 

of East Chicago, the City of East Chicago, the 

Lake Shore Chamber of Commerce, and Purdue University. 

Dr. Comer was born in East Chicago, Indiana. In 1956, he completed his studies at Indiana University and went on to receive his 

M.D. in 1960 from Howard University College 

of Medicine. From there, he went on to complete his M.P.H. degree from the University of 

Michigan School of Public Health in 1964. Following this, he went on to Yale University, 

where he was trained in psychology at the 

School of Medicine’s Child Study Center. 

Today, Dr. Comer serves as the school’s Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry. As part 

of his preparation for his remarkable career, 

Dr. Comer also completed a one-year residency at the Hillcrest Children’s Center in 

Washington, D.C. 

While his contributions to his field are many, 

Dr. Comer is quite possibly most well known 

for the founding of the Comer School Development Program in 1968. The goal of this program is to promote the collaboration of parents, educators, and the community to improve social, emotional, and academic outcomes for children that will help them to 

achieve greater success in school. His approach to focusing on teamwork has been utilized throughout the country at more than 500 

schools to improve their educational environments. 

As if his work in research and teaching, not 

to mention the founding such an influential 

program, were not impressive enough, Dr. 

Comer is also the author of nine books and 

the writer of more than 150 articles for Parents 

Magazine and more than 300 other articles on 

children’s health and development and race 

relations. He has also worked as a consultant 

for the Children’s Television Workshop, which 

produces Sesame Street. Throughout the 

years, Dr. Comer has also committed himself 

to service on many local, collegiate, and national boards, and he has been recognized 

with an abundance of prestigious awards and 

accolades for his work, including an astonishing forty-six honorary degrees. 

Madam Speaker, Dr. Comer has made extraordinary contributions to his field and to 

school systems throughout the United States. 

His dedication and devotion to the youth of 

our nation are to be admired. I respectively 

ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues join me in honoring Dr. James Comer 

for his lifetime of contributions to the American 

way of life through his work in the area of 

child psychiatry. 

f 

HONORING THE MEMORY OF 

WILLIE HERD RUSHTON 

HON. JO BONNER OF ALABAMA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, October 3, 2008 

Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, the city of 

Mobile and indeed the entire nation recently 

lost a true American hero, and I rise today to 

honor the memory of Willie Herd Rushton and 

pay tribute to his memory. 

Many Americans came to know Mr. Rushton 

last year as his courageous story, along with 

those of other Mobilians, was told in the Ken 

Burns documentary series, ‘‘The War.’’ 

Born in Nadawah, Alabama, Mr. Rushton 

grew up on a saw mill farm in Atmore. After 

graduating from high school, he moved to Mobile to work at the Coca-Cola Bottling Plant. 

He was drafted in the spring of 1943, just a 

year after getting married. 

He signed on with the Marines and was 

shipped to the Pacific in July 1943. His son 

was born just one month later, a son he would 

not see for more than two years. Assigned to 

the 11th Depot Company, he served in the 

South Pacific from July 1943 until October 

1944. He and his unit—a unit that sustained 

the highest casualty rate of any black Marine 

unit—took part in the invasion of Peleliu along 

with the 1st Marine Division. 

Mr. Rushton himself was wounded in the leg 

by shrapnel from a mortar round while on the 

island. Following his discharge in November of 

1945, Mr. Rushton was awarded the Purple 

Heart as well as the Good Conduct Medal for 

his valor in service. He worked at Sears, 

Brookley Field and the United States Postal 

Service, where he stayed for 43 years. During 

his career with the Postal Service, his colleagues affectionately referred to Mr. Rushton 

as ‘‘The Chief.’’ 

Madam Speaker, I rise to ask my colleagues to join me in remembering a true 

American hero and friend to many throughout 

Alabama, as well as a wonderful husband and 

devoted father. Mr. Rushton will be deeply 

missed by his family—his wife, Evelyn Bush 

Rushton; his two sons, Willie Herd Rushton Jr. 

and Derrick Rushton; his daughter, Deborah 

Rushton Campbell; his brother, John Lee 

Jones; his six grandchildren; and his six great 

grandchildren—as well as the many countless 

friends he leaves behind. 

Our thoughts and prayers are with them all 

at this difficult time. 

f 

HONORING THE SERVICE AND 

HEROISM OF THE 630TH TANK 

DESTROYER BATTALION 

HON. THADDEUS G. McCOTTER OF MICHIGAN

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, October 3, 2008 

Mr. MCCOTTER. Madam Speaker, today I 

rise to honor and acknowledge the heroes of 

the 630th Tank Destroyer Battalion upon their 

32nd reunion. 

Activated on December 15, 1941 at Fort 

Jackson, South Carolina, the 630th Tank Destroyer Battalion; often called the 

‘‘Fightingest,’’ distinguished itself in battle during World War II. On July 24, 1944, the Battalion landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy, 

France and was attached to the 28th Infantry 

Division XIX Corps. 

The men of the 630th Tank Destroyer Battalion fought valiantly in the European Theater 

during the war. From December 15, 1944 and 

December 31, 1944 the Battalion participated 

in actions against enemy forces in some of the 

most difficult operations known to warfare. The 

Battalion bravely liberated France, Luxembourg, and Belgium and provided critical support to allied victory in the Battle of the Bulge; 

proving the resistance and stamina of the 

American soldier was unbreakable. The heroism of the 630th Tank Destroyer Battalion 

was undoubtedly critical in bringing victory and 

peace to Europe. Tragically, many of these 

heroes never returned home, however their 

memory will live on forever in the hearts and 

minds of those they left behind. Beginning in 

1963, and annually since 1992, the veterans 

and their families have reunited thus growing 

into an extended family of friends. 

Madam Speaker, the soldiers of the 630th 

Tank Destroyer Battalion are heroes and 

champions of American freedom. As we recognize the outstanding contribution these veterans and those lost in battle have made for 

the cause of freedom, I ask my colleagues to 

join me in honoring their many years of selfless service to their community and our country. 

f 

IN MEMORIAM OF A TRAILBLAZING AFRICAN AMERICAN 

JOURNALIST 

HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, October 3, 2008 

Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today 

to honor the lifelong accomplishments of the 

late Nancy Hicks Maynard, a pioneering advocate for greater diversity in the newsrooms of 

this country’s newspapers. She was a native 

daughter of Harlem, where her mother nurtured her love for journalism, where she first 


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