[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 41 (Thursday, April 2, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E562]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO THE LATE CDR. GEORGE W. HOOVER

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. RANDY ``DUKE'' CUNNINGHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 1, 1998

  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in tribute to Commander 
George W. Hoover, who passed away last month and now lays at rest in 
Arlington National Cemetery. Commander Hoover was a friend to me, a 
friend of America, and one of the greatest intellects the country will 
ever produce.
  It is one thing to briefly summarize his life: born April 24, 1915, 
in New Kensington, Pennsylvania; joined the Navy in 1934 and served a 
distinguished career as an aviator and an engineer; married, father of 
two children; consultant to numerous government agencies and leading 
engineering and aviation firms; and responsible for several innovations 
critical to the progress of aviation engineering and instrumentation. I 
want to focus on a couple of things that were particularly meaningful 
to me.
  First, in 1945, Commander Hoover was designated Navy Helicopter Pilot 
Number 10. Today as we take for granted the availability of helicopters 
for military and civilian use, Commander Hoover ranks among the 
pioneers of aviation as one of America's very first helicopter pilots.
  Second, Commander Hoover was responsible for bringing the Martin 
Baker Ejection Seat from Great Britain into the United States. On my 
300th air mission in Vietnam, May 10, 1972, my RIO Bill Driscoll and I 
rode the descendants of the Martin Baker seat to safety upon the 
explosion of my F-4 Phantom. Thanks to Commander Hoover, the 
availability of this seat, and the improvements he and others made to 
it, ensured that a pilot could eject safely from a disabled airplane, 
even from an altitude of zero, on the carrier deck.
  No remarks I make can possibly pay appropriate tribute to Commander 
Hoover's remarkable career. It should be noted that in 1999, Commander 
Hoover will be nominated for induction into the National Museum of 
Naval Aviation ``Hall of Honor'' at Naval Air Station Pensacola, 
Florida--the cradle of all Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard aviators, 
and the place where a worthy memory of his many accomplishments can be 
kept.
  His memory will also be kept by his widow, Lona, and his two 
children. The life of a Navy wife is hard. Her husband is sent on 
deployments for months at a time. For the decades that Commander Hoover 
served his country in the Navy, I want it to be recognized that his 
wife Lona served America and the cause of freedom with vigor and 
distinction just the same.
  Let the permanent Record of the Congress of the United States now pay 
tribute to Commander George W. Hoover, and to his widow Lona and his 
family. God bless them for their service to America and to one another.

                          ____________________