[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 155 (Friday, November 7, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12049-S12050]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                MARINE CORPS--LAW ENFORCEMENT FOUNDATION

 Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a small 
organization whose existence shows that a few determined individuals 
can make a difference. I am referring to the Marine Corps--Law 
Enforcement Foundation, which was formed in February 1995 by five 
former Marines who decided over lunch one day to help the children of 
Marines and Federal law enforcement employees.
  Less than 3 years after forming, this organization has given away 
nearly $1.5 million to more than 150 children. The group focuses on the 
educational and special needs of children who have no where else to 
turn. They have paid for a hearing aid for a young son of a Marine 
whose insurance did not cover it. They provided a wheelchair to a ninth 
grader injured playing football. They gave $250,000 to children whose 
parents were Federal employees killed or injured in the 1995 Oklahoma 
City bombing.
  Mr. President, I know several of the founding members of this 
foundation personally, and I want to say that I was not surprised to 
hear about the success of their collaboration. As Edmund Burke once 
said, ``Great men are the guideposts and landmarks in the state.'' We 
can all learn something from them.
  I ask that an article from the Newark Star Ledger about the 
foundation be printed in the Record.
  The article follows:

[[Page S12050]]

   Foundation Formed by 5 Ex-Marines Offers Help, and Hope, Amid Pain

                            (By Pat Milton)

       New York.--Two years ago, the sky crashed down on Marine 
     fighter pilot Peter Harmon.
       His wife, Shay, was driving with their 5-month-old son when 
     another driver, allegedly drunk and speeding in Pompano 
     Beach, Fla., hit them head on. The car burst into a fireball.
       Shay managed to push the child out a window before she 
     died. The infant, George, burned over 33 percent of his body, 
     was given only a 5 percent chance to live. But he pulled 
     through, a scarred survivor.
       Peter Harmon, who had been on a Marine Reserves training 
     mission at the time of the accident, almost immediately 
     received a $10,000 check from a group he'd never heard of: 
     the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation.
       ``They are awesome,'' says Harmon, who believes the money 
     gave his son ``a big head start.''
       The foundation was formed in February 1995 by five former 
     marines who decided over lunch one day to help pay for the 
     education and special needs of children of Marines and 
     federal law enforcement employees.
       So far, the group has given away nearly $1.5 million to 
     more than 150 children.
       ``Just because you take your uniform off, doesn't mean you 
     end service to your country,'' said one of the five founders, 
     Richard Torykian, a Vietnam veteran and senior vice president 
     at the international investment firm Lazard Freres in New 
     York.
       He said the foundation depends entirely on private and 
     corporate donations.
       It provides at least $10,000 for schooling children up to 
     19 years old who have a parent killed in the line of duty. 
     The parent must have worked for the FBI; Drug Enforcement 
     Administration; Secret Service; Customs; Marshals Service; 
     Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; or Immigration and 
     Naturalization Service.


                         scholarships provided

       The group also gives scholarships to Marine Corps children 
     who lose a parent or are in financial need. And it helps 
     cover medical needs.
       This week, a $10,000 check was sent to the widow of Marine 
     Capt. Robert Straw a day after she gave birth to their second 
     child, Seth Robert. Straw was killed two months ago in a 
     helicopter crash outside Dallas.
       ``My husband and I had high expectations for our children's 
     education,'' Mindi Straw said by telephone from her home in 
     Jacksonville, N.C. ``This money is going to make our wishes 
     come true.''
       The foundation also sent her $10,000 shortly after the 
     crash for the couple's other child, Molli, 3.
       It recently paid for a hearing aid for the son of an active 
     duty Marine whose insurance did not cover it, and provided an 
     $800 wheelchair to a ninth grader injured playing football.
       ``How are you going to get to college when you can't even 
     get down the hallway of your high school?'' said Peter Haas, 
     a retired stockbroker who is president of the foundation, 
     based in Mountain Lakes, N.J.
       The other three founders are James K. Kallstrom, head of 
     the New York FBI; attorney Patrick McGahn, Jr.; and Steve 
     Wallace, who owns an investment firm in Los Angeles.
       The foundation has more than 900 members, who help identify 
     worthy cases and sometimes hold fund-raisers.
       The largest donation, $250,000, was given to children whose 
     parents were federal employees killed or injured in the 1995 
     Oklahoma City bombing. A big chunk of that contribution, 
     $72,000, was donated by schoolchildren from the Blue Springs 
     District in Kansas City, Mo., who held dozens of fund-
     raisers. Haas, surprised by the size of the donation, carried 
     the mostly $1 and $5 bills back to New York in laundry bags 
     and shopping bags.
       He was stopped at the Kansas City airport by security 
     guards who he thought must be suspicious of his swelling bags 
     of cash. In fact, they wanted to give him $500 they had 
     collected.
       Harmon, now a Federal Express pilot, lives in New Hampshire 
     and is attending the trial in Florida this month of the man 
     charged with manslaughter in his wife's death.
       He said little George, who he calls ``G-man,'' has a 
     painful life of operations and skin graftings ahead, but 
     still liberally dispenses hugs and kisses.
       ``To someone who sees him the first time, he may not look 
     so good on the outside, but he is smiling on the inside,'' 
     Harmon said. ``He's tough, he's a fighter, just like a 
     Marine.''

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