Madame Speaker, as co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Serbian Caucus, I rise tonight to honor an outstanding Serbian-American, Captain (Ret.) George M. Vujnovich, who was recently awarded the Bronze Star Medal, for his heroic actions during World War II.

The Bronze Star is awarded to military service personnel for bravery, acts of merit or meritorious service.  When awarded for bravery, it is the fourth-highest combat award of the United States Armed Forces.  Captain Vujnovich’s participation in the planning and execution of Operation Halyard – one of the most successful air force rescue missions in history; and an operation so secret that the records were only declassified in 1997 – certainly exemplifies the heroism required to receive this prestigious military honor.

Captain Vujnovich served with the Office of Strategic Services; the predecessor of the modern Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the wartime organization charged with coordinating activities behind enemy lines for the branches of the United States military.   Operation Halyard evolved in wake of the Allied bombing campaign to destroy Nazi Germany's vast network of petroleum resources in occupied Eastern Europe.   The most vital target of bombing was the facilities located in Ploesti, Romania, which supplied 35 percent of Germany's wartime petroleum.  Beginning in April 1944, bombers of the Fifteenth Allied Air Force began a relentless campaign to blast the heavily guarded facilities in Ploesti in an attempt to halt petroleum production altogether. By August, Ploesti was virtually destroyed — but at the cost of 350 bombers lost, with their crews either killed, captured, or missing in action.

The assault on Ploesti forced hundreds of Allied airmen to bail out over Nazi-occupied eastern Serbia, an area patrolled by the Allied-friendly Chetnik guerrilla army. When the Chetnik commander, General Draza Mihailovich, realized that Allied airmen were parachuting into his territory, he ordered his troops, as well as the local peasantry, to aid the aviators by taking them to Chetnik headquarters in Pranjani, Serbia for evacuation.

General Mihailovich's first attempts to alert American authorities to the situation regrettably failed to produce action. Fortunately, fate would have it that when Mirjana Vujnovich, a Serb employee of the Yugoslav embassy in Washington, D.C., heard of the trapped airmen.  She immediately wrote to her husband, Captain Vujnovich, stationed in Bari, Italy.  As an American, descending from Serb parents, Vujnovich knew the region intimately and also knew how to escape from Nazi-occupied territory: he had been a medical student in Belgrade when Yugoslavia fell to the Axis powers in 1941, and he and his wife spent months sneaking through minefields and begging for visas before they finally escaped from Nazi-occupied Europe.

Captain Vujnovich made it his personally crusade to get the airmen home.  From the outset though, Operation Halyard encountered opposition from Allied leaders — from the U.S. State Department, from communist sympathizers in the British Special Operations Executive (SOE), even from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill himself.   It was an operation that seemed condemned from the start, but Captain Vujanovich’s persevered rather than let the mission die. His persistence not to be in vain; he eventually won out.

Even though the operation endured from August 9, 1944 through December 27, 1944, within only the first two days, Operation Halyard successfully retrieved 241 American and Allied airmen.  By the time the Operation was officially ended, Vujnovich's team had airlifted 512 downed Allied airmen to safety without the loss of a single life or aircraft — a truly impressive accomplishment.

Captain George Vujnovich’s recognition as a hero and valued asset to this country and the United States Air Force is long over due. Frankly, had the records of the operation not remained sealed until 1997, I feel certain Captain Vujanovich would have received this honor years ago. Nevertheless, the decades do not and cannot diminish the valor and patriotism of this extraordinary man.  I ask all my colleagues to join me now to honor this Serbian-American hero, to thank him for his dedicated service to our country and to congratulate him for winning the Bronze Star. Captain Vujanovich, I salute you.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                             CONTACT: John Donnelly
September 29, 2010                                                                   (317) 848-0201

Congressman Burton Honors Sherrie Eldridge as an Angel in Adoption™

Fishers Resident To Be Recognized at National Event in Washington

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Dan Burton (IN-05) has selected Sherrie Eldridge of Fishers, Indiana, as a 2010 Angel in Adoption™ for her outstanding advocacy of adoption or foster care issues.  The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), which orchestrates the Angels in Adoption™ program, will honor Eldridge, along with more than 190 Angels, at an awards ceremony and gala event in Washington, DC, on October 6, 2010.

Sherrie Eldridge is being recognized for the many lives around the globe that have been edified, educated, and inspired by her writing and speaking.  Said Congressman Burton about the selection of Eldridge, “Sherrie is a real hero.  As a child who overcame tremendous odds, to the best-selling author and inspirational speaker she is today, Sherrie has made life-changing contributions to communities around the world.  She absolutely deserves this special honor, and I’m thankful the Angels in Adoption program exists to recognize extraordinary people like Sherrie.”

The Angels in Adoption program is CCAI’s signature public awareness campaign and provides an opportunity for all members of the U.S. Congress to honor the good work of their constituents who have enriched the lives of foster children and orphans in the United States and abroad.

About receiving the Angel in Adoption honor, Eldridge said, “What has come to mind after receiving this incredible honor is that I was somebody who wasn’t given a name by my birthmother after birth and was named ‘Baby X’ by hospital workers. Now, at age 65, I’ve been named an Angel in Adoption by Congressman Burton. What an exciting ride my life has been! And, I’ve been invited to the White House. I’m more excited about this than meeting my birthmother at age 47! Thank you, Congressman Burton. I never thought anyone would name me an angel.”

About Sherrie Eldridge:
Sherrie Eldridge overcame being abandoned as an infant to become an internationally-recognized author and speaker in the field of adoption. Random House Publishing Group refers to her as an adoption expert. Her mission is to help adoptive parents deepen their connections with their children by helping them understand the adopted child’s perspective and unspoken needs.

For the last fifteen years, Eldridge has traveled the globe, speaking to anyone who will listen about adoption. From an HIV-AIDS orphanage in Thailand, to CBN-Asia’s Beijing special event with government officials and college professors, to children and parents attending Ethiopian and Chinese culture camps, Eldridge has become known as the “Go-to-Gal for Adoption.” Her non-profit adoption educational organization, Jewel Among Jewels Adoption Network, Inc., was named by the Indiana Business Journal as a “Non-Profit of Note.”

Twenty Thing Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew (1999), her best-selling book with more than 160,000 copies in print, has become required reading by many adoption agencies for prospective parents. It has been translated into four different languages. Questions Adoptees Are Asking (2009, NavPress) provides a Biblical resource for post-adoptive growth and has been translated by CBN-Kiev into Russian and distributed in Ukraine in 2009-2010.  Forever Fingerprints: An Amazing Discovery for Adopted Children (EMK Press, 2007) was read in every state the year it was released to commemorate National Adoption Month.  It was also chosen by the First Lady of Maine for her Christmas Tea. 20 Things Adoptive Parents Need to Succeed (2009 Random House Publishing Group, 2009), the newest companion book to the first 20 Things, gives much-needed encouragement to adoptive parents and helps them offer their best to their children in practical, life-impacting ways.  Three of the four books listed above have been chosen by the Indiana Historical Society’s Christmas Gala, both in 2008 and 2009.

Learn more at http://www.sherrieeldridge.com/

About the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute and Angels in Adoption:
The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) is a 501(c)3 nonpartisan organization dedicated to raising awareness about the tens of thousands of orphans and foster children in the United States and the millions of orphans around the world in need of permanent, safe, and loving homes through adoption.  CCAI’s goal is the elimination of the barriers that hinder these children from realizing their basic right of a family. 

CCAI was created in 2001 by the active co-chairs of the bicameral, bipartisan Congressional Coalition on Adoption (CCA) to more effectively raise Congressional and public awareness about the issue of adoption. 

The Angels in Adoption™ program was established in 1999 as a Congressional press conference to honor outstanding individuals. Since then, the program has developed into a yearlong public awareness campaign culminating in an extraordinary awards Gala and celebration in Washington, D.C. 

CCAI does not receive any government funding and they rely on the generous support of foundations, corporations, and individuals to accomplish their mission.  For more information visit http://www.ccainstitute.org/

###

Burton speaks to residents

Congressman discusses election at town meeting
By Mishele Wright, Marion Chronicle-Tribune
Published: Sunday, September 12, 2010 1:08 AM EDT

Congressman Dan Burton discussed the importance of the upcoming congressional election, as well as the 2012 presidential election, during a town hall meeting Saturday at the Grant County Family YMCA.

About 20 concerned citizens were present at the meeting to listen to Burton’s opinions about the national debt, health care reform, the Cap and Trade bill and other issues concerning the federal government.

Burton criticized the current administration, saying the national debt has increased by 50 percent and 2.6 million people have lost their jobs in the last two years. He proposed several changes, including balancing the federal budget, cutting government spending, reducing the size of the federal government, repealing the health care bill and replacing it and ending bailouts permanently.

“We shouldn’t pay companies with your tax money,” he told the citizens.

Some people in attendance asked Burton how he plans to execute his beliefs. Fairmount resident David Milliner asked Burton if he would be in favor of Congress shutting the government down to create a balanced budget.

The congressman said officials attempted to do that during Bill Clinton’s administration, but were unsuccessful.

“It wouldn’t work,” he said. “We tried it.”

Milliner said citizens put their lives on the line everyday, and politicians should, too.

“We need leaders to put their careers on the line to do what’s right,” Milliner said.

Burton agreed to bring the idea up to other leaders in Congress.

After the meeting, Milliner said he came to listen to what Burton had to say.

“It’s our duty to find out what’s going on,” he said.

Various issues brought residents to the meeting.

Veteran State Representative Jim Sellers Jr. attended the meeting with other representatives to talk to Burton about their concerns with the VA Medical Center and current issues involving veterans.

Marion resident Xen Stewart said he attended the meeting to ask Burton if the post office in south Marion would be closing.

“We’ve heard so many rumors,” Stewart said. “We don’t know if it’s going to close, but I wanted to know if he knew anything specific.”

Stewart, a former letter carrier, said he uses the post office, located at 3333 S. Felton Ave., everyday, and he doesn’t want it to close.

Burton told Stewart he would look into the issue for him.

“I’m glad he took an interest in it,” Stewart said after the meeting. “I came to specifically ask about it.”

After he was finished speaking and answering questions, Burton encouraged audience members to tell their friends and neighbors how important the November election and the 2012 election are.

“It’s just a radical movement to the left and toward socialism, and we’ve got to put a stop to it,” he said about the current administration.