[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 24, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3828-S3829]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMENDING NAVY LT. SHANE OSBORN AND HIS CREW MEMBERS FOLLOWING THEIR 
                   DETAINMENT ON HAINAN ISLAND, CHINA

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I come to the floor to commend in the 
strongest possible terms the members of the United States Navy crew who 
were detained on Hainan Island in China for 11 long days earlier this 
month. I think I speak for our entire nation when I say how much we 
admire their dedication and the extraordinary level of professionalism 
they exhibited throughout their ordeal.
  Under the command of Lt. Shane Osborn, this crew of 24 servicemen and 
women left Kadena Airbase in Okinawa, Japan, on the evening of March 31 
for what was to have been a routine mission over the South China Sea.
  As we all now know, what happened after they left Okinawa, and for 
the next 11 days, was not routine. It was heroic. The entire world 
witnessed the strength, discipline and courage of our Navy crew.
  Every man and woman on that plane is a hero.
  I am especially impressed with the skill and character of a 
remarkable young man who first dreamed of flying as a 3-year-old 
watching a small Cessna on a South Dakota farm.
  We are fortunate that Lt. Shane Osborn pursued his dream to fly. And 
we are doubly fortunate that he put that dream to work in service of 
his country.
  Lt. Osborn says, modestly, that he was just what he'd been trained to 
do when he landed his damaged aircraft safely. Others see it 
differently. A Pentagon spokesman described the landing

[[Page S3829]]

as a ``spectacular feat of airmanship.'' Experienced EP-3 pilots termed 
it astounding. Indeed, it was.
  Think about what had just happened: The collision with a smaller, 
faster Chinese F-8 had dropped Lt. Osborn's EP-3 between 5,000 and 
8,000 feet and turned it almost completely upside-down; two of the 
plane's four propellers had been clipped in the collision, rendering 
useless the wing flaps used to slow the plane during landing.
  The collision had also sheared off the plane's nose cone.
  And most of the plane's instruments were so badly damaged that they 
were useless.
  Even so, Lt. Osborn managed to stabilize the plane, and he and his 
crew were able to guide it to the nearest airport, 70 miles northwest, 
on China's Hainan Island.
  Remarkably, during that 70-mile flight, Lt. Osborn and his crew had 
the presence of mind to follow international procedure and issue a 
series of distress signals. In fact, they issued as many as 25 signals 
on two separate standard frequencies.
  Lt. Osborn's crew and commanders say his courage and quick thinking 
saved 24 lives.
  After landing in Hainan, with their plane surrounded by armed Chinese 
personnel, Lt. Osborn and his crew followed U.S. Navy procedure. They 
destroyed sensitive documents and technology, greatly limiting what 
could have been a significant intelligence loss.
  For the next 11 days, Lt. Osborn's leadership, courage, dignity, and 
his remarkable sense of humor, helped keep the spirits of his crew 
high.
  We are fortunate to be protected and represented by the entire crew 
of that Navy EP-3: Richard Bensing; Steven Blocher; Bradford Borland; 
David Cecka; John Comerford; Shawn Coursen; Jeremy Crandall; Josef 
Edmunds; Brandon Funk; Scott Guidry; Jason Hanser; Patrick Honeck; 
Regina Kauffman; Nicholas Mellos; Ramon Mercado; Richard Payne; 
Mitchell Pray; Kenneth Richter; Marcia Sonon; Curtis Towne; Jeffrey 
Vignery; Wendy Westbrook, and Rodney Young.
  As a South Dakotan, I must say I am especially proud of Lt. Shane 
Osborn, who followed his dream from Mitchell, SD, to the Norfolk, 
Nebraska Civil Air Patrol, and now, into the pages of Naval history. He 
is a true hero, and we are proud of him.

                          ____________________