[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 49 (Wednesday, April 17, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E552-E553]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               A GOOD MAN

                                 ______


                           HON. GLENN POSHARD

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 17, 1996

  Mr. POSHARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise to join the American chorus of 
praise for Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and to join my colleagues in 
expressing our profound sorrow at the loss of his life in the plan 
crash in Croatia. And I also take this time to let the Nation know that 
a constituent of mine, Air Force Staff Sgt. Gerald V. Aldrich, of 
Louisville, IL, was a member of the crew and also perished in that 
terrible crash.
  Because of that, the 19th district of Illinois was touched as much as 
any other in the Nation by the news from that rugged mountainside in a 
nation torn apart by civil war and cultural strife.
  Unexplainable tragedies inevitably take with them outstanding people 
who are a credit to their families, friends, and communities. Certainly 
that is true with Sergeant Aldrich and Secretary Brown.
  I have talked with the Aldrich family at length, and know that they 
are extraordinarily proud of their fine son. He entered the military 
shortly after graduating from high school and fashioned a career that 
was clearly taking him to leadership positions in the Air Force. On

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behalf of everyone in the 19th district, I send my deepest sympathies 
to his entire family.
  As I comprehended Secretary Brown's death, I knew that most people 
would remember him for his efforts in the Democratic Party and for his 
global approach to supporting American economic interests. And while he 
must certainly be commended for those things, I knew that I would 
remember him much more for two very simple, relatively small projects 
which were extremely important to me and the people in my district. 
There are two major construction projects underway in my district right 
now because the communities made their case to the Commerce Department, 
and Secretary Brown made sure their needs were addressed. He was 
personally interested in how these projects would create jobs and 
improve the lives of working people, and I will always be thankful for 
that.
  Mr. Speaker, two fine Americans were taken from us on that mountain 
in Croatia. I thank the Aldrich and Brown families for sharing their 
precious gifts with us for as long as they did, and commend their 
careers of public service to the rest of us to emulate and admire.

                          ____________________