Whereas, after visiting troops at the American
headquarters in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the delegation aircraft crashed
into a mountainside while attempting an instrument approach to Cilipi airport,
outside of Dubrovnik, Croatia;
Whereas, the aircraft carried U.S. Secretary of Commerce
Ronald H. Brown, a public servant, who defended the United States as a soldier,
bettered our society as a civil rights pioneer, and built economic bridges for
people of all races and creeds as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce;
Whereas, Ronald H. Brown served as the first
African-American United States Secretary of Commerce from January 22, 1993,
until his honorable service to our country came to an unexpected end on April
3, 1996, in that tragic airplane accident;
Whereas, 32 remarkable American government and business
leaders as well as a Croatian photographer and interpreter also lost their
lives in the accident;
Whereas, the contributions of all of the deceased
ultimately promoted Bosnia and Herzegovina’s transition towards peace,
stability and economic viability;
Whereas, Secretary Brown’s mission advanced the goals of
the Dayton Peace Accords, negotiated at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in
Dayton, Ohio, concluded on November 21, 1995, when the leaders of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia all agreed to a breakthrough peace settlement
to halt conflicts that began in Bosnia and Herzegovina in April 1992;
Whereas, on December 14, 1995, the General Framework
Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, known as the Dayton Accords,
ended a conflict that threatened to destabilize Europe and resulted in the
death of approximately 250,000 people, and the displacement of more than two
million men, women and children;
Whereas, President Bill Clinton charged Secretary Brown,
those who joined him in this mission of peace, and those who followed him on
future missions, to contribute to the successful implementation of the civilian
aspects of the Dayton Accords; by starting the economic reconstruction and
inviting U.S. companies to help maintain the peace through creating economic
opportunity;
Whereas, Secretary Brown and those who followed him in
future missions promoted prosperity in the Balkans, established U.S. commercial
presence there increasing the efforts for peace through openness and trade
opportunities;
Whereas, every participant brought hope and inspiration to
the war torn region through the U.S. investment in reconstructing buildings,
rebuilding water and energy infrastructure, and revitalizing banking and
tourism industries;
Whereas, Secretary Ron Brown, along with the outstanding
business leaders, brave members of the military, brilliant correspondent and
dedicated public servants on the mission, sought to highlight the strength of
the U.S. economy as a positive force for peace;
Whereas, on April 7, 1996, President Bill Clinton honored
the patriotism of the dead by calling them “the best of America” and recalling
that “they believed that America, through their efforts, could help restore a
broken land, help to heal a people of their hatreds, help to bring a better
tomorrow through honest work and shared enterprise”;
Whereas, the United States negotiating team, led by
Richard Holbrooke, guided peace negotiations endorsed by members of the
European Union and Russian Federation, and ultimately enabled the transition
within the Balkan states from the former Yugoslavia’s communist regime to an
open market economy; and
Whereas the mission and sacrifice by Secretary Brown laid
the foundation for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s eventual successful transition to
free markets, as well as Slovenia’s accession to the European Union (EU) and
adoption of its currency, Croatia’s progress towards EU membership expected in
2012, Montenegro’s May 2010 Stabilization and Association Agreement with the
EU, Serbia’s December 22, 2009, application for EU membership and Macedonia’s
accession negotiations which commenced on October 14, 2009, for EU membership:
Now, therefore, be it
That the House of
Representatives—
(1)honors the memories of Secretary of
Commerce Ronald H. Brown, and 32 other remarkable Americans and two
distinguished Croatian citizens who lost their lives on April 3, 1996, serving
their countries on a trade mission to the Balkans;
(2)commends the
service of the following Americans: Staff Sergeant Gerald Aldrich (Flight
Mechanic), Duane Christian (Security Officer for Secretary Brown), Barry Conrad
(Chairman and CEO of Barrington Group, Miami, Florida), Paul Cushman III
(Chairman and CEO of Riggs International Banking Corp., Washington, DC), Adam
Darling (Confidential Assistant for Secretary Brown), Captain Ashley James
Davis (Pilot), Gail Dobert (Deputy Director, Department of Commerce Office of
Business Liaison), Robert Donovan (President and CEO, ABB Inc., Norwalk,
Connecticut), Claudio Elia (Chairman and CEO, Air & Water Technologies
Corp., Somerville, New Jersey), Staff Sergeant Robert Farrington, Jr.
(Steward), David Ford (President and CEO, InterGuard Corp. of Guardian
International, Auburn Hills, Michigan), Carol Hamilton (Press Secretary for
Secretary Brown), Kathryn Hoffman (Senior Advisor for Strategic Scheduling and
Special Initiatives for Secretary Brown), Lee Jackson (Treasury Department),
Steven Kaminski (Commercial Counselor, Department of Commerce U.S. and Foreign
Commercial Services), Katheryn Kellogg (Confidential Assistant, Department of
Commerce Office of Business Liaison), Technical Sergeant Shelley Kelly
(Steward), James Lewek (Analyst, Central Intelligence Agency), Frank Maier
(President, Enserch International Ltd., Dallas, Texas), Charles Meissner
(Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Trade), William Morton
(Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Economic Development, Department
of Commerce), Walter Murphy (Senior Vice President, AT&T Submarine Systems
Inc., Morristown, New Jersey) Lawrence Payne (Special Assistant, Department of
Commerce U.S. and Foreign Commercial Services), Nathaniel Nash (Frankfurt
Bureau Chief, New York Times), Leonard Pieroni (Chairman and CEO, Parsons
Corp., Pasadena, California), Captain Timothy Schafer (Pilot), John Scoville
(Chairman, Harza Engineering Co., Chicago, Illinois), I. Donald Terner
(President, Bridge Housing Corp., San Francisco, California), P. Stuart Tholan
(President, Bechtel-Europe/Africa/Middle East/Southwest Asia, San Francisco,
California), Sergeant Cheryl Ann Turnage (Steward), Naomi Warbasse
(International Trade Specialist, Department of Commerce), and Robert Whittaker
(Chairman and CEO, Foster Wheeler Energy International, Clinton, New
Jersey);
(3)recognizes the
contributions of Croatian citizens Nikša Antonini (photographer) and Dragica
Lendić-Bedek (interpreter), who also sacrificed their lives in the effort to
promote peace and prosperity in their homeland, and for the benefit of their
countrymen; and
(4)extends its deep
gratitude to the contributions of all of these brave and dedicated men and
women, both Americans and Croats, who helped to put the Balkans on the path
towards peace, stability and economic viability by making this visionary
mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina; and who thereby worked to share with other
countries the chance to live the Dream of peace and prosperity, which is the
American Dream.