[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 119 (Wednesday, September 4, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9847-S9848]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RETIREMENT OF THOMAS R. VOKES FROM THE U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, on August 31, 1996, while the Senate was 
in recess, Thomas R. Vokes retired from the U.S. Marshals Service after 
a distinguished law enforcement career of 33 years, including 26 years 
with the Marshals Service.
  Mr. Vokes was born and raised in Clearfield, PA. He attended the 
public schools there through high school. In 1963, he embarked on what 
proved to be a most distinguished career in law enforcement when he 
joined the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police Department as a police 
officer.
  In 1966, Mr. Vokes joined the Federal service by becoming a White 
House police officer, a predecessor to today's Uniformed Division of 
the Secret Service. Four years later, Mr. Vokes joined the U.S. 
Marshals Service, the agency from which he just retired.
  Upon joining the Marshals Service, Mr. Vokes returned to Pennsylvania 
as a deputy U.S. marshal for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Five 
years later, in 1975, Mr. Vokes became a supervisory deputy marshal in 
the Middle District. In 1980, Mr. Vokes was promoted and moved to 
California to become a court security inspector. He received a court 
appointment to serve as the U.S. marshal for the Central District of 
California, one of the Nation's largest Federal judicial districts, in 
January 1981 and served until March 1982.
  Upon completing his term as U.S. marshal in Los Angeles, Mr. Vokes 
returned to Pennsylvania and served as chief deputy U.S. marshal, the 
senior career position, in the Middle District of Pennsylvania for 2 
years. After additional service as chief deputy U.S. marshal in North 
Dakota, Mr. Vokes returned once again to Pennsylvania in 1991, having 
been appointed by the Attorney General to serve as the U.S. marshal for 
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, based in Philadelphia.
  It was in this capacity that I came to know Mr. Vokes. As the U.S. 
marshal for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Mr. Vokes was widely 
recognized and esteemed by Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
agencies and by the Federal courts for his effective leadership and 
management of the functions of the Marshals Service in the district. I 
knew the security of the Federal courts in Philadelphia was in good 
hands when Marshal Vokes was at the helm.
  In March 1994, Marshal Vokes left Philadelphia and returned to 
Washington, where he had started his law enforcement career, to serve 
as the chief of the Marshal Service's Prisoner Operations Division, 
managing the agency that ensures that Federal prisoners awaiting trial 
show up in court at the appointed time. It was from this position that 
Marshal Vokes just retired.
  If the measure of the man is the trust reposed in him, Marshal Vokes 
has been highly respected throughout his career. Twice he was selected 
to serve as chief deputy U.S. marshal, the senior career position in 
the Marshals Service. And twice he was selected to serve as the U.S. 
marshal in two of the Nation's largest and busiest judicial districts, 
Los Angeles and Philadelphia. Finally, he ended his career in charge of 
one of the operational divisions of the entire Marshals Service.

[[Page S9848]]

  Too often we in Congress fail to recognize publicly the thousands of 
dedicated civil servants like Marshal Vokes who carry out the laws that 
we adopt. I am pleased to honor Marshal Vokes for his dedication to our 
Nation and its people. He is one of Pennsylvania's finest, and we have 
been honored to share his talents with the rest of the Nation. I know 
all my colleagues join me in wishing Marshal Thomas R. Vokes all the 
best in his retirement.

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