HAPPY 106TH BIRTHDAY TO HAZEL WOMBLE

On 2026-02-04, Representative Aaron Bean (R-FL-4) delivered a floor speech titled "HAPPY 106TH BIRTHDAY TO HAZEL WOMBLE" in the House. The speech addressed healthcare and also covered veterans affairs.

HAPPY 106TH BIRTHDAY TO HAZEL WOMBLE

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 25 (Wednesday, February 4, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 4, 2026)] [House] [Page H1985] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HAPPY 106TH BIRTHDAY TO HAZEL WOMBLE (Mr. Bean of Florida was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Mr. BEAN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, let's go back to the year 1919. We had just 48 States. World War I had just ended but we called it the Great War because we didn't know there was going to be another. Charlie Chaplin had just released a short silent film called ``Sunnyside,'' before talking pictures would be all the rage. In this very Chamber, the House voted to send the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote, to the States for ratification. Today, Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate the 106th birthday of someone born that year, an American hero named Hazel Womble of Jacksonville, Florida, who is today one of our Nation's oldest living veterans. Here she is surrounded by friends and family. Born on Christmas Eve in 1919, Hazel would go on to serve her country with extraordinary courage in World War II. Hazel enlisted in the Navy Reserves and served as an operating room nurse at U.S. naval hospitals from Portsmouth to Newport and even overseas in Bermuda. In the darkest days of the war, she answered her country's call with the steady hands and a nurse's calm demeanor, holding the line not with a rifle but with a lifesaving skill and unwavering resolve. She earned the World War II Victory Medal and the American Theater Ribbon, continuing her service to our Nation until her medical discharge in 1953. At 106 years young, Hazel is not a page in our history book. She is a living chapter of American courage. Her life reflects a generation shaped by sacrifice, strengthened by service, and sustained by quiet resolve. Mr. Speaker, we honor Hazel Womble not only for the years she has lived but the example she has set. Today, we celebrate an American who continues to inspire us all more than a century after her journey began. America is very proud of her. Wishing Hazel a happy 106th birthday. ____________________