[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 22 (Thursday, March 3, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                 TRIBUTE TO THE LATE JAMES NORMAN HALL

  (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks and include 
extraneous matter.)
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a House 
concurrent resolution to pay a special tribute to one of the 
outstanding citizens of our country, who was not only a highly 
decorated war hero but an author who produced classics in American 
literature--such books as ``Mutiny on the Bounty,'' ``Pitcarin's 
Island,'' and ``Hurricanes.''
  A native son of the State of Iowa, the late James Norman Hall is 
highly revered among the island peoples of the Pacific.
  Mr. Speaker, next month April 22 will commemorate 107 years of James 
Norman Hall's life. I am especially pleased and honored to have the 
entire membership of the Iowa delegation to be original cosponsors of 
this resolution--Mr. Smith, Mr. Leach, Mr. Grandy, Mr. Nussle, and Mr. 
Lightfoot.
  I ask my colleagues to support me for the passage of this resolution 
in the Congress of the United States.
  I want to express my appreciation especially to Mr. and Mrs. Nick 
Rutgers of Tahiti for their efforts to renovate and establish James 
Norman Hall's residence in Tahiti as a national historic site for 
visitors from all over the world to see, and especially for the 
Polynesian Tahitians whom he loved so much in the remaining years of 
his life.

                            H. Con. Res. --

       Whereas James Norman Hall, a native son of the State of 
     Iowa born in Colfax in 1887, and a graduate of Grinnell 
     College, was a decorated war hero, noted adventurer, and 
     acclaimed author, who was revered and loved in France and 
     Tahiti, and throughout the South Pacific;
       Whereas James Norman Hall exhibited an unwavering 
     commitment to freedom and democracy by volunteering for 
     military service early in World War I and by fighting 
     alongside British forces in the worst of trench warfare, 
     including the Battle of Loos, where he was one of few 
     survivors;
       Whereas James Norman Hall continued his fight for liberty 
     by becoming a pilot in the Lafayette Escadrille, an American 
     pursuit squadron of the French Air Service, and his 
     courageous and daring feats in air battles earned him 
     France's highest medals, including the Legion d'Honneur, 
     Medaille Militaire, and Croix de Guerre with 5 Palms;
       Whereas James Norman Hall was commissioned as a Captain in 
     the United States Army Air Service when the United States 
     entered World War I, continued his legendary exploits as an 
     ace pilot, acted as wing commander and mentor for then-
     Lieutenant Eddie Rickenbacker, and was awarded the 
     Distinguished Service Cross medal, for gallantry and bravery 
     in battle, by General Pershing;
       Whereas James Norman Hall sought serenity after the 
     destructiveness of World War I, moved to the South Pacific in 
     1920, married a Tahitian woman and lived in Tahiti for over 3 
     decades, and wrote a prodigious number of articles and books 
     in the library of his home in Arue, Tahiti;
       Whereas much of James Norman Hall's writing enriched the 
     world's understanding of Tahiti and the South Pacific;
       Whereas James Norman Hall coauthored, with Charles 
     Nordhoff, classic masterpieces that have come to epitomize 
     the tropics, including ``Mutiny on the Bounty'', ``Pitcairn's 
     Island'', and ``Hurricane'';
       Whereas, despite James Norman Hall's achievements as a 
     decorated war hero and famed literary figure, he remained to 
     his death a humble, self-effacing man who endeared himself to 
     the people of Tahiti with his keen sense of generosity, 
     kindness, and real concern for others, prompting James 
     Michener to state that James Norman Hall was ``the most 
     loved American who ever came to the tropics'' and that 
     when ``he died, on every island in the Pacific where even 
     no man could read, there was sorrow''; and
       Whereas the home and library of James Normal Hall, in Arue, 
     Tahiti, are being restored as a museum to honor this son of 
     the State of Iowa and hero of the United States, England, 
     France, and French Polynesia: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the Congress--
       (1) honors James Norman Hall and recognizes his outstanding 
     contributions to the United States, France, Tahiti, and the 
     South Pacific, including his extraordinary service rendered 
     in wartime for the defense of freedom, his outstanding 
     achievements in the literary field, and his lifework that has 
     enriched the world's understanding of the people of the South 
     Pacific; and
       (2) requests the President of the United States to provide 
     for the presentation of a copy of this concurrent resolution 
     by appropriate officials of the United States Government to 
     the President of Tahiti Nui (French Polynesia), so that it 
     may be publicly displayed at the James Norman Hall Museum in 
     Tahiti, where it will express the appreciation of the people 
     and government of the United States for the contributions of 
     James Norman Hall and will show recognition of the 
     achievements of this great son of the State of Iowa.

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