[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 144 (Thursday, October 23, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2055]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO WALTER S. McAFEE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MICHAEL PAPPAS

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 22, 1997

  Mr. PAPPAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge a building 
dedication that honored an American that helped pioneer the Space Age. 
This new $14 million building is named in honor of Dr. Walter Samuel 
McAfee and houses CECOM Information and Intelligence Electronic Warfare 
Directorate.
  The late Dr. Walter S. McAfee was one of a team of scientists that 
were the first to bounce radio signals off the moon's surface. On 
January 10, 1946, using the Diana Tower in Fort Monmouth, NJ, a high 
frequency energy beam traveling at the speed of light reached the moon 
and bounced back in 2.5 seconds. Mr. McAfee's mathematical calculations 
on this project helped usher in the dawn of space exploration.
  Dr. McAfee, the second of nine children, attended Wiley College in 
Marshall, TX, before achieving his master's degree in physics from Ohio 
State and a doctorate degree in nuclear physics from Cornell 
University. As an African-American, Dr. McAfee admitted that he did 
encounter prejudice in his field however he, in his own words, `tried 
to deal with each person as an individual.''
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. McAfee's accomplishments are a testimony to our 
Nation's unrelenting thirst for knowledge and his spirit lives on in 
our national space programs. Our country would not be where it is today 
if it were not for the creative minds and work ethic like that of Dr. 
McAfee.

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