[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 89 (Tuesday, July 12, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                            MORNING BUSINESS

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                         W. GRAHAM CLAYTOR, JR.

  Mr. NUNN. Mr. President, I noted with regret that Graham Claytor 
passed away at the age of 82 on May 14, 1994. I wanted to take a few 
minutes to commemorate the wide-ranging life and accomplishments of 
this remarkable individual.
  I knew Graham Claytor primarily as a result of his outstanding 
service as Secretary of the Navy from 1977 to 1979 and as Deputy 
Secretary of Defense from 1979 to 1981. In those positions, he was 
responsible for several initiatives that continue to be very important 
today. He worked hard to strengthen our sealift capability and to 
preposition equipment on board ships in strategic locations overseas. 
He was involved in the creation of the Rapid Deployment Joint Task 
Force, the military command that preceded the current U.S. Central 
Command.
  In addition to his accomplishments in the Department of Defense, 
Graham distinguished himself in a wide variety of other endeavors. He 
was born in Roanoke, VA, and grew up in Virginia and Philadelphia. In 
1936, he graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University Law School, 
where he was president of the Harvard Law Review. After law school, he 
clerked for two noted jurists, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Learned Hand 
and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis.
  In 1940, even before the United States entered World War II, Graham 
tried to join the Navy. Although he was initially rejected as too old, 
he persisted until he was finally accepted, and he served throughout 
the war. In the closing days of World War II, he was commander of the 
destroyer escort Cecil J. Doyle when a Japanese torpedo attack sunk the 
cruiser U.S.S. Indianapolis. Of the almost 1,200 servicemen aboard the 
Indianapolis, 881 died in one of the greatest single combat losses 
suffered by the U.S. Navy in World War II. During the rescue operation, 
Graham Claytor exposed his ship to possible attack by Japanese 
submarines in order to save almost 100 survivors of the Indianapolis.
  After many years in private law practice, Graham turned his long-time 
avocation for railroading into his vocation when he became vice 
president of Southern Railway in 1963. He then began a long career in 
the railroad industry, culminating in his 11-year tenure as president 
of Amtrak. He is credited with turning Amtrak around by making it more 
like a commercial business. When he retired in 1993, ticket sales were 
covering 80 percent of Amtrak's operating costs, far higher than the 48 
percent that was covered when he arrived.
  Mr. President, Graham Claytor made a number of public and private 
contributions during his long, full life. I appreciate the opportunity 
to have known and worked with him. I would like to offer my condolences 
to his wife Frances Murray Claytor and to his children W. Graham 
Claytor III and Murray Claytor.

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