[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 28 (Tuesday, March 6, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S1895]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                ONE OF DELAWARE AND THE NATION'S FINEST

 Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, Delaware, officially called ``the 
First State'' is sometimes called, ``the Diamond State'' and ``the 
Small Wonder'' because of the amazing quality Delawareans bring and 
have brought to this Nation. One of the gems in the Diamond State is a 
company hidden near the center in the small town of Frederica, DE. That 
company is ``ILC Dover.'' ILC is best known as the sole designer, 
developer, and manufacturer of the Apollo and Shuttle Space Suits.
  The man who has outfitted America's astronauts for 40 years and 
helped make manned space flight possible--serving the past 17 years as 
president and general manager of ILC--is retiring. Homer Reihm, better 
known to his friends and co-workers as ``Sonny,'' is a local legend. It 
was Sonny Reihm who was ILC's program manager for the Apollo program on 
July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong wore ILC's space suit on the Moon.
  ILC has continued to be true to its space heritage by making the 
suits worn by astronauts in the Shuttle and Space Station missions. As 
America has gone further into space, so has ILC, most recently by 
producing the Pathfinder Airbags that landed on Mars on July 4, 1997. 
In 1998, in recognition of ILC's history of excellence in the service 
of America's space missions, Sonny Reihm accepted NASA's top quality 
award--known as the George Low award--honoring ILC's 100 percent 
mission success in planetary and space environments.
  While Mr. Reihm's career has paralleled the NASA space program, under 
his leadership ILC has gone much farther to produce important advances 
for the military including the M-40 series protective masks used by our 
soldiers since the end of Desert Storm, the Demilitarized Protective 
Ensemble, Aircrew protective mask systems, collective protection Chem-
Bio shelters, and lighter-than-air Aerostats used for monitoring and 
detection. ILC has leveraged these initiatives into commercial 
applications of protective suits, flexible containment devices for the 
Pharmaceutical industry, and advertising airships like the blimps seen 
so often at ball games.
  Sonny Reihm is a Delawarean through and through. He was born and 
raised on a farm in the Middletown/Odessa/Townsend area of Delaware. He 
graduated from the University of Delaware in 1960. Upon graduation, he 
joined ILC as a project engineer when ILC was bidding on the Apollo 
program. After leading the effort to successfully field the Apollo 
Space Suit, Mr. Reihm became the general manager of ILC in 1975. His 
mandate was to diversify the company to survive the post-Apollo 
mission, while still holding true to ILC's tradition of serving America 
with its unique technical knowledge. Almost ten years later, in 1984, 
after meeting the diversification challenge, Sonny became President and 
general manager of ILC. From 1975 to today, he helped build ILC from a 
25-employee corporation, to a major business player in our State and 
Nation. With 450 employees today, ILC continues to provide needed 
innovations for NASA, for the military, and for other American 
businesses.
  As outstanding as it has been, Sonny Reihm's business success is only 
one portion of his larger commitment to public service. He has served 
local and national communities throughout his life through his 
involvement in the University of Delaware Board of Trustees, the 
Delaware Manufacturing Association, the National Defense Industrial 
Association, the Soldier Biological Chemical Command Acquisition Reform 
Initiatives, the USO in Delaware, and the United Way.
  On a more personal note, I am proud to call Sonny and his wife Nancy 
dear friends. After his long, prodigious--indeed astronomic--career, 
Sonny has earned many years of enjoyment in his retirement with his 
wife, two daughters and grandchildren. He exemplifies the commitment to 
excellence and the national good that make Delaware the Small Wonder 
and keep this Nation strong. It is my honor today to salute him and his 
many years of business and community service.

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