[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 117 (Friday, August 2, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9549-S9550]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO JOHN WAYNE

  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, John Wayne, ``The Duke''. The mere name 
evokes in people around the world powerful images and fond 
recollections of the late actor and great American. Though he has been 
gone for 17 years, his spirit clearly lives on through his many movies 
and in the minds of his millions of fans. On August 17th, hundreds of 
people who admire this great man will gather in Los Angeles, CA to pay 
tribute to an individual who is a legend and an institution.
  Americans are a tough lot. We are a nation that was founded by men 
and women of great courage, strength, and morals. It took tough and 
determined people to win our independence from the British; to fight 
for the cause of the Confederacy or the Union; to tame the wild west; 
to twice lead the world to victory in two vicious global wars; and, to 
have led the fight against forces bent on subjugating the freedom 
loving people of the world under the corrupt doctrine of godless 
Communists. Americans are individuals who admire self-reliance, 
honesty, and fairness, and without question, John Wayne was someone who 
personified these traits as a man, and who brought these qualities to 
the silver screen through his prolific career as an actor, director, 
and producer.
  In countless movies, John Wayne portrayed mythic figures of American 
lore. Characters that included cowboys, lawmen, soldiers, sailors, and 
marines in films such as ``Stagecoach,'' ``The Sands of Iwo Jima,'' 
``The Fighting Seabees,'' ``The Shootist,'' ``The Green Berets,'' 
``True Grit,'' and dozens of other titles that soon became classics. It 
was impossible not to admire John Wayne and the roles he played for 
they all embodied the ideals that Americans hold dear. Moviegoers knew 
that if ``The Duke'' took a swing at someone, they deserved it, or if 
John Wayne fired a weapon, it was only to protect the life of an 
innocent person, to uphold the law, or to help defend the Nation. The 
characters John Wayne played were decent men committed to doing what is 
honorable and just, and for those reasons, he will be remembered as a 
American icon for many generations to come.
  Mr. President, the United States is a nation that is made up of men 
and women who labor tirelessly to make our county a better place. Few 
people think about the police officers and firefighters who put their 
lives on the line, or the tens of thousands of service members spread 
around the world protecting American security, or the

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nurses who tend to our sick. Day in and day out, these people carry out 
heroic acts with little or no recognition. John Wayne portrayed these 
people in his films, and they saw their efforts chronicled and, in The 
Duke, these Americans saw a little bit of themselves. There will 
probably never again be another actor who so embodies all the best 
qualities of our Nation. There will certainly never be another John 
Wayne.

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