[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 168 (Thursday, December 6, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S12529]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    SENATOR THURMOND'S 99TH BIRTHDAY

  Mr. BYRD. Madam President, with great pleasure, I belatedly wish the 
happiest of birthdays to the senior Senator from South Carolina. It was 
99 years ago yesterday that Strom Thrumond was born in Edgefield, SC.
  Ninety-nine years old, what a feat. that makes him old enough to be 
my big brother!
  When he was born, December 5, 1902, the Wright brothers had not yet 
made their historic flight at Kitty Hawk. He has lived to see men 
walking on the Moon and American space vessels exploring the far 
reaches of our galaxy.
  When he was born. Theodore Roosevelt was President of the United 
States. Since then we have had 16 more Presidents.
  When he was born, the Kaiser still ruled in Germany. Since then, that 
country has seen the rise and fall of the Weimar Republic, the rise and 
fall of Nazi Germany, a divided Germany, and now a united Germany.
  When he was born, the Czar still ruled in Russia. Since then, that 
country has experienced the Russian Revolution, the Bolshevist 
government, the Communist government, the Soviet empire, and now Russia 
again.
  Almost as intriguing has been the extraordinary career of our 
remarkable colleague. During the same time period, he has been a 
teacher, an athletic coach, an educational administrator, a lawyer, a 
state legislator, and a circuit court judge.
  He won his first elective office, County Superintendent, the same 
year that Herbert Hoover won his first elective office, 1928. He was a 
soldier in World War II, where he took part in the D-Day invasion of 
Normandy. He was a presidential nominee in 1948 and the governor of his 
beloved State of South Carolina from 1947 to 1951. He has been a 
Democrat, a Dixiecrat, and a Republican. Most of all he is a great 
American.
  All of this would have been more than enough experiences and 
achievements in one lifetime for most mortals. But, incredibly, Strom 
Thrumond's greatest days were still ahead of him.
  In 1954, he won his first election to the U.S. Senate as a write-in 
candidate--making him the only person in history to be elected to the 
Senate as a write-in candidate. He has now become the longest-serving 
Senator in history, and the oldest person ever to have served in the 
Senate.
  But it is more than longevity that has made Strom Thurmond an 
extraordinary Senator. As chairman of the Senate Armed Services 
Committee and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he has fought 
for a stronger military to keep our country free, and he has fought for 
tougher anti-crime laws to make our streets safer. As President pro 
tempore of the Senate, he brought dignity, style, and a southern 
refinement to this important position.
  For these and other achievements, he has had high schools, state and 
federal buildings, as well as streets, dams, and town squares named in 
his honor. A few years ago (1991), the Senate designated room S-238 
here in the U.S. Capitol as the ``Strom Thurmond Room'' ``in 
recognition of the selfless and dedicated service'' that he has 
``provided . . . to our Nation and its people.''
  On this, his 99th birthday, I wish to say what a privilege and an 
honor it has been to have served with this remarkable man for all these 
years.
  He has always been an outstanding legislator, a Southern gentleman, 
and foremost, a good and dear friend.
  Happy birthday, Senator. God Bless you.

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