[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 28 (Wednesday, March 13, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1799-S1800]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      WELCOME TO DR. DAVID RUSSELL

  Mr. REID. On behalf of Senator Warner, I welcome Dr. David Russell, 
who has been our guest Chaplain, for his very timely prayer and also 
the representation of the American Legion which has rendered such great 
service to our country.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, we are grateful this morning to have a 
very distinguished member of the clergy of Virginia participate in the 
opening of today's session as the Chaplain. It is my honor and 
privilege to join others this morning. My colleague, Mr. Allen, was 
here, and Senator Reid participated in introducing Dr. David Russell.
  Dr. Russell hails from Spotsylvania, VA, and is pastor of the 
Cornerstone Baptist Church in Falmouth, VA, a community of just over 
3,600 outside Fredericksburg. He served in the Korean war, as did I, 
and he served in the U.S. Air Force from 1949 until 1952. It is 
interesting that our periods overlapped. I served in the Marines in 
Korea in the fall of 1951 until the spring of 1952.
  In short, Dr. Russell has served his Lord, his nation, stretching 
back over 50 years. He is also privileged to be the national chaplain 
of the American Legion, an organization of which I am privileged to be 
a member, as was my father. My father served in World War I as a young 
doctor in the trenches in France and proudly joined the Legion. I still 
possess the American Legion pin that my father carried in that period 
of time.
  Dr. Russell's distinguished background, however, includes another 
profound and noteworthy matter. It has to do with his service as a 
long-time member of the Chapel of Four Chaplains. In fact, he now 
serves as the Virginia State Chaplain of the Chapel of Four Chaplains. 
There may be some who are not familiar with the Chapel of Four 
Chaplains. I would like this morning to advise the Senate on this 
historic moment in America's history.
  The inspiration for the Chapel of Four Chaplains and its mission of 
unity without uniformity comes from the courageous acts of four Army 
chaplains who were serving aboard the USS Dorchester when it was hit by 
an enemy torpedo and sank in the North Atlantic on February 3, 1943. 
The four chaplains, LT George Fox, LT Alexander Goode, LT John 
Washington, LT Clark Poling, a Methodist, one of Jewish faith, one of 
Catholic faith, and one of the Dutch Reform Church, respectively--
quickly spread through the ship to tend to the wounded and dying, to 
comfort those able to attempt survival in the icy arctic water. They 
died together, going down with the ship, after giving their lifejackets 
to other members of the crew. Of the 902 service persons aboard that 
merchant seaman ship and civilian workers on that ship, 672 died, 230 
survived.
  President Truman was the Commander in Chief under whom the 
distinguished guest today and I served in the Korean war, and indeed in 
my brief service at the conclusion of World War

[[Page S1800]]

II when I served in the Navy, he was Commander in Chief at that 
time. In his dedication speech, in 1951, in a memorial to these four 
brave men, he said:

       This interfaith shrine will stand through long generations 
     to teach Americans that as men can die heroically as 
     brothers, so should they live together in mutual faith and 
     good will.

  These words are as important today as they were 51 years ago. The 
Senate is indeed privileged to have this distinguished American before 
us today.
  This has been an unusual week for me in the sense that on Monday I 
attended the funeral services at Arlington of Corporal Matthew Commons, 
U.S. Army, Company A, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, who lost his 
life just a few days ago in Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan. Last 
night, I delivered a eulogy on behalf of an old friend in Virginia, an 
African American who served aboard the carrier Yorktown and was in 11 
major engagements in World War II. His name was Richard Hall. He worked 
with me down in Virginia for these many years, and was a dearly beloved 
friend.
  In the last 2 weeks, America experienced approximately nine deaths in 
Operation Anaconda. But I reflected last night, as I do briefly this 
morning, on the history of two battles which took place 70-some-odd 
years ago. Let's see, it was 16 December 1944 to 19 January 1945--the 
Battle of the Bulge. I mention this because we, the United States, 
suffered about 41,000 casualties in that battle: Killed in action, 
4,000; wounded, 20,000; missing, 17,000; all occurring in 35 days of 
fighting. That was in Europe.
  In the Pacific, where Richard Hall served in so many conflicts, the 
Battle of Iwo Jima was fought over 36 days from 19 February to 26 March 
1945. I remind America we had 26,000 casualties: Killed in action, 
6,800; wounded, 19,200. I also remind America of the enormous service 
these men and women have given this Nation. Today we can stand and 
share in the freedom provided by the members of our Armed Forces. This 
freedom is predicated on the sacrifices, be it by CPL Matthew Commons 
10 days ago, or in those two battles of World War II. We must be ever 
mindful of the service of men and women in the Armed Forces throughout 
our history that makes possible our life today.
  I thank my colleagues for this opportunity to address the Senate.

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