[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 157 (Wednesday, October 11, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S14958-S14959]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO RACHEL MELLINGER SCHLESINGER

  Mr. NUNN. Mr. President, I rise this morning to pay tribute to a 
wonderful lady and wonderful friend, Rachel Mellinger Schlesinger. 
Rachel died yesterday morning in Arlington, VA. Rachel was the wife of 
James Schlesinger, a remarkable public servant who served in Cabinet 
positions in three administrations.
  In a real sense Rachel served as first lady of the Department of 
Defense, first lady of the Department of Energy, and first lady of the 
Central Intelligence Agency, when Jim Schlesinger held these important 
Cabinet posts.
  Rachel was a remarkable and accomplished woman, by every measure. She 
was a talented musician. She was active in the mental health movement, 
historic preservation, and in the preservation of the rural lands that 
she loved so much. She was also founder and first chairman of the 
Ballston Symphony and a deacon in her church.
  Rachel rarely involved herself in public issues. She always had her 
own convictions and opinions, but her capacity to deal with crisis was 
famous. She accompanied Jim to many distant places in connection with 
his work and on several occasions, by putting herself willingly in 
dangerous situations, she helped calm and reassure her friends and our 
friends around the world and our allies around the world.
  On one occasion which reached public attention, Jim was then Chairman 
of 

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the Atomic Energy Commission. A Spartan missile warhead test was 
scheduled in the Aleutians, and there was widespread fear that it would 
cause an earthquake and a tidal wave known as a tsunami in that area. 
Rachel packed up her two daughters and her husband and moved them to 
the island where the test was to take place. The family's presence was 
widely publicized and calmed much of the alarm in that area.
  Rachel traveled with Jim on an extended trip to Asia in 1975 when Jim 
became the first United States Secretary of Defense to visit Japan for 
many years. It was after the fall of Saigon, and there were widespread 
demonstrations. But the trip also generated an outpouring of support, 
due in no small part to Rachel Schlesinger's presence by Jim 
Schlesinger's side.
  Rachel served as college editor of Mademoiselle magazine after 
graduation from Radcliffe with honors in American history and 
literature. After her marriage to Jim, she did some freelance writing 
for a time, but she soon devoted herself entirely to their growing 
family, and of course she was very, very proud of their eight wonderful 
and successful children. After their eight children had grown up, she 
became active again in charitable and cultural affairs. One of those 
eight, their daughter, Clara, served very ably in my office as an 
intern in 1985.
  Rachel was a violinist with the Arlington Symphony since 1983. She 
was on the board of directors and on the executive committee of the 
symphony. She served on the overseers' committee of the Memorial Church 
at Harvard, was a deacon and Sunday school teacher at Georgetown 
Presbyterian Church, and distributed food on many, many occasions to 
the homeless over a large number of years.
  Rachel was absolutely committed to mental health, and she worked 
closely with the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, including 
testifying before the Congress. Rachel always retained her love of the 
land, from her childhood days on the family farm in Ohio. In the 
1980's, she began to raise Christmas trees in the Shenandoah Valley, 
delivering them herself near Christmastime, including the delivery of 
several to the Nunn home just in time for our Christmas celebration.
  Rachel's long battle with cancer is now over, but the memory of her 
rare spirit will comfort and sustain those she loved and cared for in a 
life of courage and a life of commitment.
  I thank the Chair.

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