[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 10, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3822-S3823]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO NAVY CAPTAIN GEORGE STREET

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I welcome this opportunity to pay tribute 
to an outstanding officer of the U.S. Navy.
  Captain George Street, a World War II submarine war hero and Medal of 
Honor winner, proudly served our country in the United States Navy for 
over 39 years. Sadly, he passed away on February 28, in Andover, 
Massachusetts, his home for many years after his retirement from the 
Navy in 1966.
  Captain Street was a native of Richmond, Virginia, and a 1937 
graduate of the United States Naval Academy. He served on two naval 
surface combat ships, the USS Concord and the USS Arkansas, before 
reporting to submarine school. His first submarine assignment was in 
the USS Gar where he made nine wartime patrols in the Pacific. On his 
very first patrol, as the submarine's Torpedo Data Computer Operator, 
his leadership and courage earned him the Silver Star for actions in 
which the Gar sank over 10,000 tons of enemy shipping.
  On a subsequent patrol, he earned a second Silver Star as the Gar's 
Assistant Approach Officer. Operating in Japanese-controlled waters, he 
played a vital role in sinking three enemy ships, and was also 
instrumental in enabling the Gar to evade a barrage of enemy 
countermeasures and return safely to port. Captain Street continued to 
build upon his brilliant service as the war went on.
  In November 1944, he took command of the USS Tirante and on March 3, 
1945, he led the submarine out of Pearl Harbor on her first war patrol. 
Within a month, Captain Street and the crew of the Tirante sank three 
enemy ships off the shores of Japan and survived a seven-hour 
counterattack by Japanese ships. Captain Street continued his patrol in 
the East China Sea, near Japan's southern coast, wreaking havoc on 
Japanese shipping.
  On April 14, 1945, the Tirante began a major battle that would earn 
the crew a Presidential Unit Citation and result in President Harry S. 
Truman awarding Captain Street the Congressional Medal of Honor. 
Receiving intelligence that a major Japanese transport ship and escort 
vessels had anchored in a harbor on Quelpart Island off the coast of 
Korea, Captain Street took the fight to the enemy. He surfaced the 
Tirante and manned his gun crews since the Tirante would have to fight 
her way out on the surface if attacked. He maneuvered to penetrate the 
mined, shoal-obstructed, and radar-protected harbor. He evaded enemy 
patrols and, once in the inner harbor, fired two torpedoes into a large 
Japanese ammunition ship, completely destroying it. The resultant 
explosion revealed the Tirante's position to the enemy. In the light of 
the burning ammunition ship, two Japanese Mikura class frigates spotted 
the Tirante and attacked. Quickly bringing his submarine to bear on the 
leading frigate, Captain Street counterattacked with a torpedo, and 
then swung his boat around and fired his last torpedo at the other 
frigate. Clearing the harbor at emergency full-speed-ahead, he slipped 
undetected along the shoreline and safely evaded a depth charge attack 
by a pursuing patrol. The ammunition ship and both frigates had been 
sunk.
  Captain Street was awarded the Navy Cross for another bold action two 
months later. On June 11, 1945, the Tirante sank several hostile 
freighters and other vessels, then moved through treacherous shallow 
waters into the heart of Nagasaki Harbor, where he sank another 
Japanese ship and destroyed docking facilities vital to the

[[Page S3823]]

enemy. The Tirante surfaced and escaped from the harbor under hostile 
gunfire from ship and shore batteries.
  After World War II, Captain Street continued to serve with 
distinction as the commanding officer of three naval surface ships, as 
a submarine division commander, and as the commander of a submarine 
group. On his retirement in 1966, he became an active member of 
numerous local, state, and national veterans organizations and was a 
popular speaker at patriotic and community functions in Massachusetts 
and New England. Captain Street often helped veterans and veterans 
organizations, and had a strong interest in talking with and inspiring 
school children.
  Captain Street's dedication and service to his country and community 
were extraordinary. I am grateful, as I know the entire nation is, for 
his lifetime of outstanding service. He was a great American hero, role 
model, and citizen. He will be missed, but his memory and example will 
live forever.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts is recognized.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I thank the Chair.
  (The remarks of Mr. Daschle and Mr. Kennedy pertaining to the 
introduction of S. 2541 are located in today's Record under 
``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')

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