[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 39 (Monday, April 3, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H1655-H1656]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE BALKANS TRADE MISSION MEMORIAL

  (Mr. FARR of California asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks and include 
extraneous material.)
  Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, on April 3, 1996, the Department 
of Commerce suffered the greatest tragedy in its history when 35 people 
perished in a plane crash while conducting a trade mission to the 
Balkans.
  Ronald H. Brown, then Secretary of Commerce, was leading a delegation 
of private sector businessmen and government officials on a trade 
mission to seek ways to implement the civilian aspects of the Dayton 
peace accords through trade ties and investment opportunities. 
Secretary Brown and his staff were accompanied by a group of chief 
executive officers of major companies who agreed to help restore 
Bosnia's buildings, its water and energy systems, its tourism and its 
banking system. The goal of the trip was to start our U.S. commercial 
presence, to start economic reconstruction and to include U.S. 
companies in the development of the region. It was a mission of hope 
for the war torn region and an opportunity for American business. The 
members of the trade mission thought they would be able to use the 
power of the American economy to help peace take hold in the Balkans. 
Their quest was cut short on an unwelcoming mountain in Croatia.
  Today, the families of all of those victims of that crash gathered 
here in Washington to unveil a memorial, a memorial that is a lasting 
testimonial written by the families of those loved ones who were lost 
on that fateful day. I took part in the dedication of that memorial at 
the U.S. Department of Commerce.
  Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the names of the people that 
were on that memorial and hope everyone will take advantage of visiting 
it in our beautiful Department of Commerce.
       ``All of them were so full of possibility, even as we 
     grieve for what their lives might have been, let us celebrate 
     what their lives were.''

                                         President William Clinton

                       Trade Mission Participants

       Staff Sergeant Gerald V. Aldrich II, Flight Mechanic, 
     United States Air Force.
       Niksa Antonini, Photographer, Republic of Croatia.
       Dragica Lendic Bebek, Interpreter, Republic of Croatia.
       Ronald H. Brown, Secretary of Commerce.
       Duane R. Christian, Security Officer, United States 
     Department of Commerce.
       Barry L. Conrad, President and CEO, Barrington 
     International Hospitality, Inc.
       Paul Cushman III, Executive Vice President, Riggs Bank/CEO, 
     Riggs International.
       Adam N. Darling, Confidential Assistant, United States 
     Department of Commerce.
       Captain Ashley J. Davis, Pilot, United States Air Force.
       Gail E. Dobert, Deputy Director, Office of Business 
     Liaison, United States Department of Commerce.
       Robert E. Donovan, President, ABB, Incorporated.
       Claudio Elia, President and CEO, Anjou International and 
     Air and Water Technologies.
       Staff Sergeant Robert Farrington, Jr., Steward, United 
     States Air Force.
       David L. Ford, President, InterGuard Corporation.
       Carol L. Hamilton, Press Secretary, United States 
     Department of Commerce.
       Kathryn E. Hoffman, Senior Advisor for Strategic Schuduling 
     and Special Initiatives, United States Department of 
     Commerce.
       Lee F. Jackson, Executive Director, European Bank for 
     Reconstruction and Development, United States Department of 
     Treasury,
       Stephen C. Kaminski, Senior Commercial Officer in Austria, 
     United States and Foreign Commercial Service, United States 
     Department of Commerce.
       Kathryn E. Kellogg, Confidential Assistant, Office of 
     Business Liaison, United States Department of Commerce.
       Technical Sergeant Shelly A. Kelly, Steward, United States 
     Air Force.
       James M. Lewek, Economic Analyst, Central Intelligence 
     Agency.
       Frank A. Maier, President, Ensearch International 
     Corporation.
       Charles F. Meissner, Assistant Secretary for International 
     Economic Policy, United States Department of Commerce.
       William E. Morton, Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
     International Economic Development, United States Department 
     of Commerce.
       Walter J. Murphy, Senior Vice President of Sales/Marketing, 
     AT&T Submarine Systems, Inc.
       Nathaniel C. Nash, New York Times, Frankfurt Bureau Chief.
       Lawrence M. Payne, Special Assistant, United States and 
     Foreign Commercial Service, United States Department of 
     Commerce.
       Leonard J. Pieroni, Jr., Chairman and CEO, Parsons 
     Corporation.
       John A. Scoville, Chairman, Harza Engineering Company.

[[Page H1656]]

       Captain Timothy W. Shafer, Pilot, United States Air Force.
       I. Donald Terner, President, Bridge Housing Corporation.
       P. Stuart Tholan, President, Bechtel-Europe, Africa, Middle 
     East, Southwest Asia.
       Technical Sergeant Cheryl A. Turnage, Steward, United 
     States Air Force.
       Naomi P. Warbasse, Deputy Director, Central and Eastern 
     Europe Business Information Center, United States Department 
     of Commerce.
       Robert A. Whittaker, Chairman and CEO, Foster Wheeler 
     Energy International.
                                  ____


                           Adam Noel Darling

       Adam was born on December 20, 1966, in Livermore, 
     California . . . As my universe grows infinitely larger, may 
     my loyalty to beloved friends grow dearer. As the world 
     becomes exponentially complex, may my passion for the truth 
     fathom its extremities. As the pursuit of peace grows costly 
     and elusive, steel my resolve . . . Temper my candor with 
     kindness, my directness with humor. Guard me from the 
     temptation to substitute personal devotion for the simple 
     truth, and save me from sacrificing the life of one friend or 
     foe for abstract principle or selfish ambition. Make me at 
     home with prime ministers and farm workers alike in order 
     that power may be less arrogant and the humble may know the 
     power of their true worth . . . May I take no notice of 
     another's deliberate smallness, nor make one decision from 
     fear, nor withhold my resources in stinginess. In defeat 
     liberate me in expansive faithfulness and in victory delivery 
     me from devaluing large principles by personal meanness . . . 
     Let me spurn accolades that I may be truly honorable. Let me 
     aspire to the vision of youth that I may be always young. Let 
     me respect and receive the patience of my grandfather that I 
     may be wise, the tenacity of my grandmother that I may 
     endure, the love of my parents that I may be at home at the 
     heart of the universe, the devotion of my sister and my niece 
     that I may have a future, the joy of my brother that I may 
     dance with him forever . . . And in the end may I be swept 
     away in the infinite fierce tenderness of true love . . . 
     Adam was serving as Confidential Assistant to Secretary Ron 
     Brown while on this trade mission to Bosnia. In 1994, Adam 
     was appointed Speech Writer and Confidential Assistant to 
     David Barram, Deputy Secretary of Commerce, traveling 
     throughout Asia, Australia, Canada, and the U.S. Previously, 
     he was International Trade Administration Deputy Public 
     Affairs Director. In 1991-92, Adam worked in the German 
     Bundestag as a Carl Duisberg Fellow . . . ``I want to 
     renovate the homes, refurbish the schools, retool the 
     factories, and rededicate the churches of American cities. I 
     now know that rebuilding America's cities will be my life's 
     passion and my life's work. I have a special talent for this 
     work and therefore a responsibility to do it.''

                          ____________________