[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.''
____________________