[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 74 (Thursday, May 20, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5771-S5772]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                      TRIBUTE TO ADMIRAL BUD NANCE

 Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise to give tribute to 
Admiral Bud Nance. His recent death is a great loss to this institution 
and to this country. His list of accomplishments is long, his list of 
friends even longer. I want to express my sympathy to his wife and 
family. I also want to extend that same sympathy to my friend from 
North Carolina, Senator Helms, who has lost a great friend and advisor.
  I first met Bud in 1991 when he came out of a well-deserved military 
retirement and took over as Staff Director of the Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee. I was a member of the Committee at that time. His 
career as a Navy Commander brought a steady hand and a cool head to the 
Committe. I knew that when I had new staff member starting in the 
Senate I could send him or her to Bud and he would put the staff member 
on the right track with his fatherly guidance. His maturity and 
mentoring role will be almost impossible to replace. I also knew that 
Bud would provide me with clear-headed advice. He was plain spoken and 
honest, and I truly admired him for that. Even after I left the 
Committee, I often turned to Bud for assistance or guidance on a 
particular issue, and he always gave me an honest answer. That counts 
for a lot up here.

[[Page S5772]]

  Mr. President, the Admiral's many accomplishments have been noted 
previously by my colleagues. Although I knew of his military background 
prior to joining the Senate, Bud was too modest to let the rest of us 
in on just what he had gone through in his previous career as a Navy 
officer. He saw active duty in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. It has 
been reported that during World War II he endured 162 Japanese air and 
kamikaze attacks. One of the papers reminded me of one of Bud's great 
lines when the Committee was considering whether U.S. Ambassadors 
should receive additional benefits, including hardship pay. ``I fought 
at Iwo Jima,'' he said, ``That's hardship.'' His life experiences 
helped him keep our work here in perspective.
  Mr. President, I noted the obituary from the Charlotte Observer was 
entitled, ``Bud Nance, Monroe Native Was an Officer and a Gentleman.'' 
This was certainly a fitting description of the man, and he will be 
remembered fondly by all who knew him.

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