[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 110 (Wednesday, July 24, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S8671]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE REHOBOTH BEACH, DE, BEACH PATROL

 Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, many Members of this House and 
thousands of residents of this city are familiar with Rehoboth Beach, 
DE, as the Summer Capital of the United States--and there's more to 
that expression than merely a nickname.
  The Delaware seashore resort has for decades welcomed vacationing 
Presidents, Cabinet Secretaries, Members of Congress, representatives 
of the diplomatic community, and thousands of other Washingtonians of 
every description. Rehoboth Beach's attractions include its sparkling 
Atlantic surf; broad beaches; a lively, multi-lingual boardwalk echoing 
languages from all over the world; a faithfully family-oriented 
atmosphere; and safety in the water for younger and older visitors 
alike.
  Next Saturday, in fact, the Rehoboth Beach Patrol--the courteous and 
skillful young women and men who protect the resort's ocean swimmers--
will hold its first lifeguards' reunion, celebrating not only 75 years 
of service to the community and its visitors, but a remarkable three-
quarter-century record of perfect safety of the swimmers under their 
protection. Since 1921, when the Rehoboth Beach Patrol was established 
with just two lifeguards, until today, when as many as 37 guards are on 
duty during peak periods along the mile and a half of protected beach, 
the Rehoboth Beach lifeguards have never lost a swimmer.
  That is a record any beach patrol would be proud of, and it was not 
achieved by accident. Guarding a crowded ocean beach is a constant 
challenge--every summer the Rehoboth Beach lifeguards pull scores of 
troubled swimmers from the surf, treat hundreds of injuries, and 
reunite more than 400 lost children with their parents. It is a task 
that requires ceaseless alertness, well-conditioned bodies and highly 
trained skills, and unflinching personal courage when the ocean 
attempts to claim a victim.
  It is more than just a job to those who undertake it. It is a valued 
tradition that has sustained Rehoboth Beach as a desirable ocean resort 
for 7 decades and has called to its service generations of families--
fathers, brothers and, since the late seventies, sisters--from 
Delaware, from its neighboring States of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and 
from this very city.
  These young men and women are athletes who thrive on competition, and 
their competitive instincts pit them every day against the sea, and 
often, to heighten their morale and sharpen their skills, against other 
beach patrols in national and international contests. They train 
constantly; they dedicate their days to the safety of others, often at 
the risk of their own; and their service is vital to the pleasure and 
the security of the hundreds of thousands of vacationers who visit 
Rehoboth Beach every summer.
  Mr. President, we Delawareans are very proud of the Rehoboth Beach 
Patrol and its 75-year record of perfect safety. We believe these brave 
young women and men represent the best that Delaware and the Nation 
have to offer in the way of idealism, energy and a willingness to risk 
all in the service of others. And we invite our neighbors in the Middle 
Atlantic States to join us in congratulating the Rehoboth Beach Patrol 
and its Alumni Association for calling together for the first time 
lifeguards who have served the resort over the past 75 years, including 
a 91-year-old who last mounted a guard stand in 1926 as well as the 46 
current members of the patrol.
  They deserve our admiration and our thanks, and we all wish them a 
successful and rewarding reunion this week.

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