Floor SpeechNeutral2026-05-04

HONORING WORLD WAR II VETERAN AND COASTAL BEND RESIDENT CLYDE CLIFTON McMEANS AS HE RECEIVES FULL MILITARY HONORS 85 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH

DefenseVeterans

Context

On 2026-05-04, Representative Michael Cloud (R-TX-27) delivered a floor speech titled "HONORING WORLD WAR II VETERAN AND COASTAL BEND RESIDENT CLYDE CLIFTON McMEANS AS HE RECEIVES FULL MILITARY HONORS 85 YEA" in the House. The speech addressed defense and also covered veterans affairs.

Full Text

HONORING WORLD WAR II VETERAN AND COASTAL BEND RESIDENT CLYDE CLIFTON McMEANS AS HE RECEIVES FULL MILITARY HONORS 85 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 77 (Monday, May 4, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 77 (Monday, May 4, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E415] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING WORLD WAR II VETERAN AND COASTAL BEND RESIDENT CLYDE CLIFTON McMEANS AS HE RECEIVES FULL MILITARY HONORS 85 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH ______ HON. MICHAEL CLOUD of texas in the house of representatives Monday, May 4, 2026 Mr. CLOUD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Seaman 1st Class Clyde Clifton McMeans, who died aboard the U.S.S. California during the Pearl Harbor attacks, and is now finally being laid to rest at the Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery. Identification of McMeans' remains was made in November of 2025, and he now receives full military honors nearjy 85 years after his death. McMeans was born in Karnes City, Texas, in 1915 and was one of 9 children of Elvarena and Clarence McMeans. His family moved to the Coastal Bend in the next decade, and McMeans attended school in Agua Dulce before completing his education at Banquete High School. He enlisted in the Navy in 1940 and was stationed on the U.S.S. California for just over a year before the Pearl Harbor attacks on that fateful day of infamy, December 7th, 1941. Remains that could not be identified from the California were interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu until the Navy contacted McMeans' surviving siblings in the early 2000s to collect DNA samples. In the past year, Navy officials notified the McMeans family of the positive identification of Clyde's body made possible through the work of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. McMeans' burial comes after Storekeeper 3rd Class Robert S. Garcia, another Coastal Bend native who served aboard the California and died in the attacks, was also identified and recently buried in Corpus Christi. South Texas and the Coastal Bend Veterans Cemetery now carry the distinct privilege of honoring the life and service of Clyde McMeans and his heroic sacrifice for our nation. I thank the Navy, the several veterans organizations that assisted with this effort, and most of all, the McMeans family for their work to carry on the remarkable life of Seaman McMeans. ____________________

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HONORING WORLD WAR II VETERAN AND COASTAL BEND RESIDENT CLYDE CLIFTON McMEANS AS HE RECEIVES FULL MILITARY HONORS 85 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 77 (Monday, May 4, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 77 (Monday, May 4, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E415] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING WORLD WAR II VETERAN AND COASTAL BEND RESIDENT CLYDE CLIFTON McMEANS AS HE RECEIVES FULL MILITARY HONORS 85 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH ______ HON. MICHAEL CLOUD of texas in the house of representatives Monday, May 4, 2026 Mr. CLOUD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Seaman 1st Class Clyde Clifton McMeans, who died aboard the U.S.S. California during the Pearl Harbor attacks, and is now finally being laid to rest at the Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery. Identification of McMeans' remains was made in November of 2025, and he now receives full military honors nearjy 85 years after his death. McMeans was born in Karnes City, Texas, in 1915 and was one of 9 children of Elvarena and Clarence McMeans. His family moved to the Coastal Bend in the next decade, and McMeans attended school in Agua Dulce before completing his education at Banquete High School. He enlisted in the Navy in 1940 and was stationed on the U.S.S. California for just over a year before the Pearl Harbor attacks on that fateful day of infamy, December 7th, 1941. Remains that could not be identified from the California were interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu until the Navy contacted McMeans' surviving siblings in the early 2000s to collect DNA samples. In the past year, Navy officials notified the McMeans family of the positive identification of Clyde's body made possible through the work of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. McMeans' burial comes after Storekeeper 3rd Class Robert S. Garcia, another Coastal Bend native who served aboard the California and died in the attacks, was also identified and recently buried in Corpus Christi. South Texas and the Coastal Bend Veterans Cemetery now carry the distinct privilege of honoring the life and service of Clyde McMeans and his heroic sacrifice for our nation. I thank the Navy, the several veterans organizations that assisted with this effort, and most of all, the McMeans family for their work to carry on the remarkable life of Seaman McMeans. ____________________