[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 73 (Wednesday, May 22, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E860]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO ADM. MIKE BOORDA

                                 ______


                         HON. TILLIE K. FOWLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 21, 1996

  Mrs. FOWLER. Mr. Speaker, today I attended a beautiful and moving 
memorial service for Adm. Mike Boorda, our Chief of Naval Operations. 
Like all such services, it was an occasion to shed some tears. However, 
it was also an occasion to celebrate the life of a good man and to 
recognize the extent of his contributions to both the Navy and our 
Nation.
  Admiral Boorda had all the qualities of a good leader. He was 
intelligent, creative, practical, and forward looking. He had a 
wonderful sense of humor that delighted everyone he met, and he was a 
person of great integrity. What took him from the level of good leader 
to the level of great leader, however, was the fact that he never 
forgot that he was a sailor long before he was an admiral.
  Although he rose to the Navy's highest post, Mike Boorda never forgot 
what it was like to be an enlisted man or a junior officer, and he 
consistently put the needs of those men and women ahead of his own. He 
was a genuinely warm and humble man, and his love and respect for the 
Navy and for those under his command were boundless. Those feelings 
were warmly reciprocated, as we saw today.
  In my opinion, Admiral Boorda was one of the greatest CNO's the Navy 
has had. I was proud to call him my friend, and I will miss him very 
much. As his friends and colleagues honor his memory today, I ask my 
colleagues to join me in praying for his family, for his beloved Navy, 
and for our Nation, which has lost a great leader.

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