[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 94 (Tuesday, July 19, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                     TRIBUTE TO SIX COAST GUARD MEN

                                 ______


                          HON. GERRY E. STUDDS

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 19, 1994

  Mr. STUDDS. Mr. Speaker, the Coast Guard and the Nation suffered a 
tremendous loss last week.
  On July 12, 1994, flying out of Coast Guard Air Station Humboldt Bay, 
CA, in heavy fog to search for a 37-foot sailing vessel with two people 
onboard that had stranded on the rocks, the aircrew of rescue 
helicopter 6541: Lt. Mark E. Koteek, of Eureka, CA; Lt. Laurence B. 
Williams, of McKinleyville, CA; Chief Aviation Survivalman Peter A. 
Leeman, of Eureka, CA; and Aviation Structural Mechanic First Class 
Michael R. Gill, of Trinidad, CA, perished in a helicopter crash.
  The very next day, a civilian helicopter taking Senior Chief 
Boatswain's Mate James A. Favani, of San Francisco, CA, and Chief 
Marine Science Technician Charles R. Blome, of Billings, MT, out to 
inspect an oil tanker 50 miles offshore, went down over the Gulf of 
Mexico killing the two Coast Guard marine inspectors.
  These tragic accidents shock and sadden us. Every day, the highly 
trained men and women of the Coast Guard put their lives on the line to 
save others. They know there are dangers attendant to their work, but, 
their work is a passion: to serve their country; to ensure the safety 
of those who go to sea; to enforce the maritime laws of this Nation.
  Today, we mourn the tragic loss of these young men and send our 
condolences and prayers to their families. We will always remember 
their supreme personal sacrifices and their heroic deeds.

                          ____________________