[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 26, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1657-S1658]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     WILLIAM F. ``BUDDY'' PRIOLEAU

  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, for more than 150 years, the Citadel has 
been one of the most historic colleges in the State of South Carolina, 
and an institution that has produced not only a number of leading 
citizens, but interesting individuals as well. There is no question 
that the vast majority of Citadel alumni are passionately loyal to 
their alma mater, but every once in awhile, a particularly dynamic 
personality will emerge as a booster of the college. William F. 
``Buddy'' Prioleau, Sr., was one such person, a man who was successful 
in life, possessed a distinctive personality, and an enthusiastic 
supporter of the Citadel. Sadly, he passed away late last month.
  Known throughout South Carolina as Mr. Citadel, Buddy was a regular 
fixture at many of the athletic events, parades, and formal and 
informal functions associated with that college and the Bulldogs. His 
unflagging devotion to the school earned him a long tenure on the 
Citadel's board of visitors, including a term as its chairman, which 
began in 1969 and only ended in 1994 when he did not submit his name 
for reelection. In recognition of his long and almost unparalleled 
service, he was awarded the distinguished title of board member 
emeritus. Indeed, it is difficult to immediately think of a man more 
associated with the Citadel than Buddy was.
  Entering the Citadel in 1939, it was a long road to the ring for 
young Cadet Prioleau, whose studies were interrupted by World War II. 
Before enlisting in the Army in 1942, Buddy was already demonstrating a 
distinguished

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amount of school spirit by managing the football team, being a member 
of the Block C Club, and serving as the president of the Bucanneer 
Club. Putting his education on hold, Buddy Prioleau traded the gray 
uniform of a Citadel cadet for that of a soldier and he found himself 
serving in the bloody Pacific theater with the 41st Division.
  At the end of hostilities, Buddy was able to return to the infamous 
white barracks of the Citadel and complete his undergraduate education. 
As was so typical of the veterans of World War II, Buddy recognized the 
importance of an education, and with his bachelor's degree in hand, he 
moved from Charleston to Columbia, where he enrolled in the school of 
law at the University of South Carolina, and from which he graduated in 
1949.
  For almost the next 50 years, Buddy practiced law and enjoyed great 
success in the legal profession. He served as legal counsel to 
Governors Byrnes and Timmerman, as well as myself, when I held the 
office of Governor of South Carolina. Additionally, he served as an 
acting judge of the Richland County Family Court, was a partner in the 
firm of Prioleau & Walker, and was very active in the South Carolina 
and American Bar Associations.
  All the years that he was working as an attorney, building a career, 
raising a family, rising to the rank of colonel in the National Guard, 
and becoming the owner of an inn on Pawley's Island, Buddy Prioleau 
still made abundant time for one of his true loves, his alma mater. 
There is not a graduate of the Military College of South Carolina who 
did not know of Buddy or had some humorous anecdote about him. Without 
question, he was much beloved by the entire Citadel family, and they 
paid tribute to him in a number of ways over the years. In 1981, the 
Citadel yearbook, the Sphinx, was dedicated in his honor, and last year 
he was awarded an honorary doctor of laws and his portrait was hung in 
Daniel Library. Two very high honors that are accorded to only a select 
few individuals.
  Mr. President, I know that I speak for all of Buddy Prioleau's 
friends when I say that not only has the Citadel lost one of its most 
distinguished graduates, but that our State has lost a civic-minded and 
public-spirited man. My sympathies go out to Buddy's children, William, 
Mary, Roberta, and Elizabeth, as well as his five grandchildren. He 
will be missed.

                          ____________________