[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 52 (Monday, April 22, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3789-S3790]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             COMMEMORATING SECRETARY OF COMMERCE RON BROWN

  Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN. Mr. President, it is always painful when death 
comes too soon. It is even more so when the circumstances are so 
overwhelmingly dramatic and tragic as the airplane crash in Bosnia that 
took the life of our Nation's Secretary of Commerce, Ron Brown, and 34 
others.
  Ron Brown was a dear and personal friend. His loss was compounded by 
my personal friendship with four other people who died that day. The 
shock of it still resonates.
  His family, and the families of the others who died with him in the 
service of their country feel the pain most directly. There is no 
substitute for the love and the loss of a husband, a father, and 
relative. I want to offer them my sincere condolences and prayers at 
this sad time.
  His colleagues in the Government and in the private sector will miss 
him and his leadership. Ron Brown not only energized the Democratic 
Party, but the Department of Commerce as well.

[[Page S3790]]

The result of his efforts ranged from the creation of jobs for hundreds 
of thousands of American workers, to a special job for a singular 
American, Bill Clinton, now President of the United States.
  Ron Brown's legacy of achievement is a beacon of hope to all 
Americans, precisely because he exemplified the possibilities when the 
higher angels of the American character prevail. He overcame potential 
limitations, and turned liabilities into assets by dint of commitment, 
effort, and talent. His was the essential American success story. But 
his was also a success story for all humanity. Ron Brown was not a 
selfish person. His life was dedicated to reaching out to others in 
pursuit of the common good. That legacy is no more poignantly 
demonstrated than in the young people to whom he gave opportunity and 
guidance and a chance. Ron Brown did not pull the ladder of success up 
behind him.
  I count myself among the fortunate proteges of Ron Brown. He helped 
make my history-making election to the U.S. Senate possible. I was only 
one of many of his students. Several others died with him that day.
  Ron Brown's passing has been publicly mourned by millions, and 
created an opportunity for a public expression of gratitude for his 
public service. I hope the families of those who perished with him will 
take some measure of that expression as gratitude in mourning for the 
lost ones: Ron Brown, Kathryn Hoffman; Duane Christian; Carol Hamilton; 
Bill Morton; Chuck Meissner; Gail Dobert; Lawrence Payne; Adam Darling; 
Steve Kaminski; Naomi Warbasse; Kathy Kellogg; Jim Lewek; Lee Jackson; 
Dragica Lendic Bebek; Niksa Antonini; Nathaniel Nash; Barry Conrad; 
Paul Cushman; Robert Donovan; Claudio Elia; Leonard Pieroni; John 
Scoville; Donald Terner; Stuart Tholan; David Ford; Frank Maier; Walter 
Murphy; Robert Whittaker; Ashley Davis; Tim Schafer; Gerald Aldrich; 
Robert Farrington, Jr.; Cheryl Turnage; Shelly Kelly.
  We will, as a community, have to close ranks to go forward without 
them, but with God's grace the mark they made in service to us all will 
carry on.

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