[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 119 (Thursday, September 10, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1688-E1689]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             THE LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENTS OF JOHN M. FISHER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DUNCAN HUNTER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 10, 1998

  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, many prominent members of the national 
security community gathered last week at the Heritage Foundation to 
recognize the lifetime achievements of John M. Fisher. Last week's 
luncheon was sponsored by the National Captive Nations Committee and it 
honored the man who organized the American Security Council in 1955 and 
has served as its Chairman for the last 43 years.
  I have known John on a personal as well as a professional level for 
many years, and I have a great deal of respect for him. I am serving as 
one of the House Co-Chairmen of the bipartisan National Security Caucus 
(NSC). The NSC is now the largest Congressional Member Organization and 
it was established in 1978 primarily through John's efforts. John is 
also the Chairman of the non-profit National Security Caucus Foundation 
which works with the NSC on a wide range of public policy development, 
education and research programs.
  Born in Fairhaven, Ohio, in 1922, he served as a youthful 
commissioned officer in the Army Air Corps during 1943-45, flying 28 
combat missions for which he was decorated several times. He studied at 
Miami University of Ohio, and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree 
in 1947. Later he was a student at Brooklyn Law School (1950-51) and at 
Northwestern University.
  For six years he was a F.B.I. Special Agent, and then in 1953 he 
became the National Director of Security with Sears, Roebuck and 
Company. While he was a Sears employee, he became the part-time 
director of the American Security Council, working with General Robert 
E. Wood, the then Sears Board Chairman. Since 1961, John has devoted 
all of his time to the operation of the American Security Council.
  In the intervening 43 years, John Fisher has devoted himself to 
national security in the broad definition of the term. His concerns 
embrace not only military preparations and defense; but also democracy, 
and human rights. He has devoted countless hours to efforts to advance 
freedom and self-determination in former Soviet Union and in such 
diverse nations as Afghanistan, Angola, Cuba, Nicaragua and all of 
Eastern Europe.
  In 1966, John Fisher led the board of the American Security Council 
in the purchase of Longlea Farm, the 933-acre estate of the late Alice 
Glass Marsh, located in Boston, Virginia. There he established the 
Congressional Conference Center, and with the support of generous 
donors, he built an additional housing facility for seminar 
participants and other guests.
  The American Security Council facilities now include three major 
buildings on the Boston property. The magnificent manor house is today 
known as the Gustavis A. Buder Seminar Center. The residential quarters 
are known as Ogle Hall, and they are named after Arthur Ogle, who was a 
prominent Ft. Lauderdale, Florida businessman. The administrative 
building and library is known as the Sol M. Feinstein Research Library 
and contains an impressive collection of research material on defense 
and foreign policy issues.
  Throughout the years John Fisher has worked hard to promote peace and 
freedom. He has worked closely with every president since Dwight 
Eisenhower, with leaders of both parties in Congress; with Secretary of 
State, Defense; with leaders of national organizations, and with state 
and local leaders across the nation.
  A pioneer in direct mail and public relations, John Fisher has 
mounted many national campaigns to gather support for a host of worthy

[[Page E1689]]

causes in the U.S. and abroad. His efforts in 1978 led to the creation 
of the National Security Caucus, a coalition of 275 Members of 
Congress, who focus attention on defense, foreign policy and 
international economic issues.
  John has always been a practitioner of bipartisanship, and one of his 
guiding principles was best stated by the late Senator Henry ``Scoop'' 
Jackson: ``In matters of national security, the best politics is no 
politics.''
  Having founded the American Security Council and directed its course 
since the early years of the Cold War, John Fisher has lived to see the 
collapse of Communism in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, 
the withdrawal of Russian and Cuban forces from Afghanistan and Angola, 
the democratization of much of Central and South America, and the 
progress of democracy in parts of Africa and Southeast Asia.
  Much credit must be given to the heroes of the Cold War. A due 
recognition must also be assigned to a truly remarkable American 
leader, who despite lacking governmental portfolio, has contributed 
mightily to the nation's well-being and security: John Morris Fisher, 
the Chairman of the American Security Council and the National Security 
Caucus Foundation.

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