{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.tuberville.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/tuberville-honors-two-alabamians-for-veterans-day/", "Tuberville Honors Two Alabamians for Veterans Day", "2025-11-10", "2025", "2025-11", "Republican", "Senate", "AL", "Tommy Tuberville", "T000278", "www.tuberville.senate.gov", "tuberville", "https://www.tuberville.senate.gov/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Ahead of Veterans Day, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) honored America\u2019s oldest Marine\u2014Mr. Roy Drinkard of Cullman\u2014and Army Master Sergeant Harvey Mathis of Enterprise.\n\nSenator Tuberville\u2019s remarks can be found below or watched on YouTube or Rumble.\n\n\u201cI like to think that my state of Alabama is the most patriotic in the country. We stand for the flag. And we honor those who have made freedom possible. That\u2019s why it\u2019s no surprise that the first-ever Veterans Day celebration was held in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1947. World War II veteran Raymond Weeks organized a parade to mark \u201cNational Veterans Day,\u201d and continued to do so every year until his death in 1985. It\u2019s important to remember ALL who were willing to sacrifice to keep our country free. That\u2019s why every year, I come to the Senate floor to recognize some of Alabama\u2019s heroes. Their service did not end when their time in the military did\u2014they have selflessly contributed to their communities long after taking off their military uniforms.\n\nOur state is home to nearly half a million veterans, including America\u2019s oldest living Marine and World War II veteran\u2014Mr. Roy Drinkard of Cullman. After returning home from the war, Roy rolled up his sleeves to help recruit new businesses to Alabama as part of the \u2018Flying Fifty.\u2019 He founded Drinkard Chevrolet and later led Drinkard Development, helping shape Cullman into the thriving community it is today. I was proud to be with Roy earlier this year as he celebrated his 105th birthday. He\u2019s still going strong with no signs of slowing down. Roy remains involved in First Baptist Church of Cullman and serves on the Board of Trustees for his alma mater, Troy University.\n\nAlabama is also home to Army Master Sergeant Harvey Mathis of Enterprise. Harvey said that his legacy of military service can be traced all the way back to the Revolutionary War. He retired from the military in 2000 after almost 25 years of service. Harvey then entered the police academy at the age of 42 so that he could continue to protect and serve as a law enforcement officer. He became a chief investigator, where he helped bring those committing crimes against children to justice. Harvey also served as part of the Dale County Sheriff\u2019s Department and as Police Chief for the City of [Daleville] during his 15 years in law enforcement. Alabama is grateful for those like Harvey who have answered the call to defend Americans against evil at home and abroad.\n\nAs we prepare to commemorate Veterans Day this weekend, I remind us of the quote, \u2018If you want to thank a soldier, be the kind of American worth fighting for.\u2019 May we all live worthy of the sacrifices made for us. To all our veterans and their families, we say \u2018Thank you.\u2019 May God Bless you, and continue to bless our great country.\u201d\n\nSenator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans\u2019 Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.tuberville.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/tuberville-honors-two-alabamians-for-veterans-day/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.631815055385232, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}