[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 108 (Thursday, June 29, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S9338]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



[[Page S 9338]]


                THE RETIREMENT OF MARINE GEN. CARL MUNDY

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I rise today in tribute to Gen. Carl Mundy, 
who retires this Friday after 38 years of service to our Nation.
  Carl Mundy has made his career around a title that we as Americans 
have held sacred for over 200 years: leader of Marines. He was 
commissioned in 1957, at the height of the cold war, and served a tour 
in Vietnam, where he was wounded and decorated for bravery.
  Carl Mundy has had the difficult job of leading the corps during the 
difficult transition out of the cold war and into the uncertainties of 
today's world. But under his leadership, as the Marines have reduced 
their forces, they have maintained the professionalism and esprit that 
have been demonstrated throughout our history.
  On Carl Mundy's watch, Marines participated in dangerous operations 
around the world that were executed with such quiet excellence that 
many Americans barely notice. The mission in Somalia was fraught with 
danger, and from the initial intervention to the recent quiet 
withdrawal of U.N. forces, General Mundy's Marines were there.
  The Haiti invasion was equally dangerous, and our Nation's Marines 
were up to the task of bringing democracy back to that poor nation.
  Most recently, Marines showed their flexibility and bravery by 
rescuing downed Air Force pilot Scott O'Grady from hostile Bosnia, an 
extraordinary feat that demonstrated why I call the Marines our 911 
force--they are the ones you call in the middle of the night and who 
are ready to go.
  Throughout it all, Carl Mundy's determined leadership was there, 
extending from the halls of the Pentagon down to the fresh privates who 
march with that unique Marine swagger off the famous drill fields of 
Parris Island, SC. I know, because my son Mark was one of those young 
privates.
  The life of a Marine is difficult, and when Marines are gone for 
months at a time doing dangerous
 work, no one bears that burden more than the families who are left 
back at home. They are the unsung heroes of our military, and I want to 
pay special tribute to Carl's wife Linda, and his children Elizabeth, 
Carl III, and Timothy. I know that Carl is proud that both his sons 
wear the Marine uniform, and that serves as further testimony to the 
sense of duty that pervades the Mundy family.

  Carl may come across as the prototypical square jawed Marine, but I 
know him as a man with a sense of humor and the confidence to laugh at 
himself. I also have it on good authority that he has a secret life as 
Carl Mundy, the country and western songwriter who can work a mean cut 
bucket bass and can sing every verse of ``Mountain Dew.''
  Mr. President, I have gotten to know General Mundy in the last 4 
years through my work on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. I 
have found him to be a vigorous advocate for the Marine Corps and, I am 
proud to say, a friend. On behalf of many of us here in the Senate, I 
want to extend my sincere thanks to Carl Mundy for a career of service 
to our Nation, and offer our best wishes to the Mundy family for a 
fulfilling and well-deserved retirement.

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