[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 1 (Monday, January 24, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S44]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IN HONOR OF ADMIRAL ELMO R. ZUMWALT, JR.

 Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise today to honor a titan in 
our nation's naval history. Early this year, during our recess, Admiral 
Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. passed away. Admiral Zumwalt led a disciplined, 
dedicated, and directed life and career as a leader and, sometimes, as 
an iconoclast.
  Mr. President, Admiral Zumwalt's meteoric rise through the ranks 
began at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he graduated in just three 
years, yet ranked seventh in his class. Following his graduation from 
the academy, Zumwalt began a lengthy career on a number of surface 
warships.
  Among those ships was the U.S.S. Wisconsin, one of four Iowa-class 
battleships, the largest battleships ever built by the Navy. The four 
vessels, the Wisconsin, the Iowa, the New Jersey and the Missouri, 
served gallantly in every significant United States conflict from World 
War II to the Persian Gulf War. Future Admiral Zumwalt, the Wisconsin's 
navigator when the Korean War broke out, extolled her ``versatility, 
maneuverability, strength, and power.'' Unbeknownst to him, this would 
not be the last time that he would leave his indelible mark on the 
great state of Wisconsin.
  Following his service in the war, Zumwalt shuttled between the 
Pentagon and the sea. He excelled in both arenas, but in entirely 
different ways.
  In 1970, President Nixon appointed Zumwalt the youngest Chief of 
Naval Operations in our history. As CNO, Admiral Zumwalt tackled some 
of the most divisive and challenging issues not just to hit the Navy, 
but society at large. And we're still trying to conquer some of them.
  Admiral Zumwalt crusaded for a fair and equal Navy. He fought to 
promote equality for minorities and women at a time of considerable 
racial strife in our country and at a time of deeply entrenched 
institutional racism and sexism in the Navy. He pushed so hard against 
the establishment that he almost lost his job. But thanks to the 
support of some like-minded reformers, including our esteemed 
colleague, the late John Chafee, who was then the Secretary of the 
Navy, Zumwalt prevailed and instituted a host of personnel reforms.
  Mr. President, Admiral Zumwalt's efforts to promote equality 
addressed, in part, an issue that we are tackling anew. Many in 
Congress and in the Defense Department seem to think that recruitment 
and retention can be improved simply by increasing pay and benefits. 
They could learn much from Admiral Zumwalt, who understood the 
importance not only of boosting pay, but also of changing the service 
to reflect the wants and needs of service members.
  We should follow Admiral Zumwalt's example and take a broader view 
when we look to improve the lives of our military personnel.
  Mr. President, in his later years, Admiral Zumwalt dedicated himself 
to assisting Vietnam War era veterans who had been exposed to Agent 
Orange. He played an instrumental role in getting Agent Orange-exposed 
veterans with cancer a service-connected illness designation. I had the 
honor of meeting with him to discuss his efforts to increase research 
funding for Agent Orange related illnesses and to explore options for 
international cooperation in that research.
  Admiral Elmo Zumwalt was a great naval leader, a visionary and a 
courageous challenger of the conventional wisdom. We will not see the 
likes of him again. We mourn his passing and salute his 
accomplishments.

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