[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 157 (Sunday, November 9, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S12409]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S12409]]
                   TRIBUTE TO GEN. JOHN SHALIKASHVILI

 Mr. DODD. Mr. President. I rise today to pay tribute to Gen. 
John Shalikashvili. His life's story is one of the greatest in our 
Nation's history. General Shali, as he is affectionately known, came to 
this country when he was 16, and after graduating from college, he was 
drafted into the U.S. military. During his 39 years of public service, 
he rose from the ranks of Army private to the highest military office 
in the land. He is an embodiment of the principles for which this 
Nation stands, and I would like to pay tribute to him on the occasion 
of his retirement earlier this year as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs 
of Staff.
  Anyone he worked with will tell you that he did a tremendous job as 
Chairman. During these times of military downsizing, he has been 
responsible for shaping a military that is smaller, but better. In 
order to do so, he had to ensure that our troops were better prepared 
and better equipped than any other force in the world. He succeeded 
mightily.
  During his tenure as Chairman, U.S. troops were tested in more than 
40 operations. In places like Bosnia, Haiti, and Iraq our troops 
performed superbly in their efforts to defend democracy and further the 
cause of peace.
  General Shalikashvili's courage and bravery were unquestioned, as 
evidenced by the Bronze Star he earned for his combat service in the 
Vietnam war. But what made General Shali such an effective leader was 
his compassion, and his ability to understand the human element of 
military operations.
  He was the head of the 1991 operation to provide relief to the Iraqi 
Kurds who had been exiled from their homes by Saddam Hussein. Thousands 
of men, women, and children were dying in the mountains of northern 
Iraq and eastern Turkey, and he helped many of these families return to 
their homes, personally providing comfort to these individuals who were 
sick and suffering.
  America's troops could look at General Shali and see a man who 
understood their needs, because he had stood in their shoes. He worked 
his way through the ranks, but never forgot his own past.
  General Shalikashvili spent his 39-year career fighting to protect 
freedom, and I think that the greatest tribute and reward for his 
service came this past July in the city of Warsaw. At that time, 
General Shali watched on as President Clinton invited Poland to become 
a member of NATO. Who would have ever imagined that the young Polish 
child, who was 3-years-old when Hitler's tanks rolled in from the East, 
would 1 day return to Poland as the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. 
military and stand before thousands of cheering Poles as his native 
country was welcomed back into the family of free nations?
  General Shalikashvili is truly an inspiration to us all, and our 
Nation is richer and stronger as a result of his contributions. I want 
to personally thank him for his service, and I wish him and his wife, 
Joan, all the best as they enjoy retirement together.

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