[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 123 (Tuesday, September 10, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1553-E1554]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  SALUTE TO LT. GEN. EDWARD J. BRONARS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ROBERT K. DORNAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 10, 1996

  Mr. DORNAN. Mr. Speaker, in today's Washington Times, my good friend 
Lt. Col. Ollie North provides a fitting tribute to Lt. Gen. Edward J. 
Bronars, a true American war hero.

              [From the Washington Times, Sept. 10, 1996]

               Farewell Salute to a Hero for All Seasons

                            (By Ollie North)

       America has lost one of its true heroes and I have lost a 
     great friend. Last Friday, Lt. Gen. Edward J. Bronars, U.S. 
     Marine Corps (Ret.), war hero, husband, father, mentor and 
     steadfast ally in the face of adversity, died at Walter Reed 
     Army Medical Center.
       First and last, Ed Bronars was a patriot. He spent his 
     entire adult life in selfless service to our country. Born on 
     April 12, 1927, in Chicago, he was graduated from the U.S. 
     Naval Academy in 1950 and was commissioned in the United 
     States Marine Corps. During his 32-year career with the 
     Corps, Gen. Bronars served in two wars--Korean and Vietnam--
     and the chest of his forest green uniform carried the Silver 
     Star, the Bronze Star, the Distinguished Service Medal, and 
     the Legion of Merit with Combat ``V'' for valor.
       And while he was respected and admired by fellow Marines 
     for his intelligence, courage and professionalism, few 
     outside of his family and close friends knew of the risks he 
     had taken for our country ``behind the lines'' in Eastern 
     Europe during the now long-forgotten Cold War. But the 
     selection boards knew--and so in 1979 Ed Bronars was promoted 
     to lieutenant general--the second highest designation in the 
     USMC. When he retired from the Marines in 1982 he was the 
     deputy chief of staff for manpower at Headquarters Marine 
     Corps.
       But retirement for Ed Bronars didn't really mean 
     ``retirement.'' From 1982 to 1985, he served as the president 
     of the Navy Relief Society, a private, non-profit, volunteer 
     supported organization dedicated to helping young military 
     personnel and their families. From 1986 to 1987, Gen. Bronars 
     served as executive director of the Association of Military 
     Schools and Colleges and, then in 1987 he volunteered to 
     become the administrator of the Legal Defense Fund 
     established by my Naval Academy Classmates.
       Why did a retired general jump from a nice, soft job as the 
     executive director of one of Washington's many Associations--
     to heading up the legal defense fund of a fellow who was 
     having the book thrown at him by the entire Washington 
     establishment--and the mainstream media to-boot? For Ed 
     Bronars it was easy--one of his own was in trouble--a whole 
     lot of trouble! And Ed Bronars knew what the words of the 
     Marine Corps motto--Semper Fidelis--meant.
       When we were both on active duty, Gen. Bronars had been my 
     division commander, and in 1981, he had selected me to serve 
     on Ronald Reagan's National Security Council Staff. He knew 
     of my reservations about the assignment--and he knew how hard 
     I had tried to get out of it to go back to the Marines. Now--
     the guy he'd ordered to the White House needed help--and Ed 
     Bronars was there.
       It was Ed Bronars' careful steady hand, his unquestioned 
     integrity and his perseverance that made it possible for us 
     to pay the millions in legal bills we accrued in the great

[[Page E1554]]

     Iran-Contra controversy. Without his steadfast help, 
     unwavering encouragement and good counsel, the long ordeal of 
     1986-1989 could well have been an unbearable burden for my 
     family and me.
       And later it was Gen. Bronars who encouraged me to start 
     Freedom Alliance; the 5091(c)(3) non-profit, charitable and 
     educational organization I founded in 1990. In March 1991, 
     Gen. Bronors became the chairman of the board of Freedom 
     Alliance and served in that capacity until his death.
       At Freedom Alliance, Gen. Bronars led Operation Homefront, 
     a campaign which supplied over 125,000 care packages to the 
     men and women serving in the Persian Gulf War. He also 
     originated the HEROeS Scholarship Program (Honoring, 
     Educating, and Remembering Our Survivors) which provided up 
     to $10,000 in educational grants to the surviving family 
     members of Gulf war casualties, and the CAST Program 
     (Casualty Assistance Support Team), a $50,000 grant from 
     Freedom Alliance, administered by military chaplains to 
     assist family members in visiting their loved ones in 
     military hospitals as a result of wounds in the Persian Gulf 
     War.
       Gen. Bronars also became a public advocate for the 
     readiness and integrity of the U.S. Armed Forces. He 
     testified before the Bush administration's Presidential 
     Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces, 
     and with the voice of experience, warned of the dangers in 
     placing women directly into the horror of combat. He did the 
     same in opposing the Clinton administration's proposals 
     regarding homosexuals in our armed forces.
       And with all of this, he still devoted time to the Marine 
     Corps Scholarship Fund and the Young Marines program for at-
     risk youth. In all he did, Ed Bronars sought no recognition, 
     no honor, no praise for countless hours of toil and trouble. 
     In every event his good humor would prevail over the 
     naysayers, his perseverance inspired the weary and his 
     friendship offset the adversaries.
       Many knew Ed Bronars as a great leader. A good number knew 
     he was a steadfast patriot. A handful knew him as a war hero. 
     The beautiful Dot Bronars knew him as her husband. Bruce and 
     Bobbi knew him as their Dad. I was blessed to have him as a 
     faithful friend. Semper Fidelis, we'll miss you, Ed!

                          ____________________