[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 76 (Tuesday, June 11, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H3426]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          FAREWELL TO ULYSSES S. GRANT SHARP, A GREAT AMERICAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, for the first time in 20 years, I find 
myself going back to San Diego with my friend and seatmate, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham), who is very much interested 
in national security, as I am, and missing one of our most trusted 
advisors at the table. That has occurred because we have lost Ulysses 
S. Grant Sharp, one of our great admirals and one of our great military 
leaders.
  Mr. Speaker, his story is largely the military's story of this last 
century. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1927. He 
served before World War II on the battleship USS New Mexico, the 
transport the USS Sumner, the destroyers the USS Buchanan and the USS 
Winslow, the carrier the USS Saratoga and the cruiser the USS Richmond. 
After that, and during World War II, he was awarded two Silver Stars 
while commanding the USS Boyd for action at Wake Island in the 
Marianas, the Philippine Islands, Okinawa, Formosa and the Gilbert 
Islands. Admiral Sharp finished the war on the staff of Commander, 
Destroyer Force Pacific.
  He was a great warrior, Mr. Speaker. After he left his battlefield 
command after World War II, he could see Korea on the horizon and in 
that war he commanded the Destroyer Squadron FIVE. He served with the 
staff of Commander, Seventh Fleet as Fleet Planning Officer for the 
Inchon invasion. In 1951 he was assigned as Chief of Staff of 
Commander, Second Fleet.
  In 1953 he assumed command of the cruiser USS Macon, and following 
the command, he served as deputy for Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet.
  But it was during Vietnam, Mr. Speaker, in 1964, in which he was 
appointed by the President to become Commander in Chief Pacific; that 
is CINCPAC, a unified command of nearly 1 million Army, Navy, Marine 
and Air Force personnel in an 85-million-square-mile area and, at that 
point, the entire Vietnam theater that he really became a very major 
leader of American military forces in a very critical conflict.
  Uly Sharp was responsible at that point to the Secretary of Defense 
and the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the overall supervision of the United 
States combat operations in Vietnam and throughout the Pacific during 
the 4 years that followed. After that, Mr. Speaker, he came home and 
retired in San Diego and was a great member of our community.
  He wrote a book called ``Strategy for Defeat'', which I would commend 
to those who follow military affairs and who need to be reminded that 
the way we achieve peace in this world and the way we have achieved 
peace in this world is through military strength. Uly Sharp was really 
a model citizen, a model soldier citizen in the sense that he thought 
that when a military person retires, their next duty is to become 
involved in civic and political affairs, and Uly did that. He was one 
of my first advisors.
  Twenty years ago, when I was running for office and had no chance to 
win, and when my friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham) 
came along in 1990 and similarly had a very difficult race, Uly Sharp 
showed up and worked hard and tried to drag us across the finish line, 
and did so successfully. He was a wonderful guy who always had time for 
the community, was a leader of our military community in San Diego, as 
a 4-star admiral, a guy who brought everybody together and imparted 
advice to all of those who were willing to listen about military 
affairs.
  One of my best memories of Uly is going over on a Sunday afternoon 
with my dad to his house at Point Loma and listening to him as he laid 
out the wisdom of almost a full century of service in the United States 
military.
  Uly Sharp was a model, I think, for all Americans, not just people 
that wear the uniform, but especially for people that wear the uniform, 
because he believed that every citizen had a double obligation, and 
that was an obligation to serve the country in uniform, and he carried 
that out very proudly and very well, but also the obligation to be 
involved in civic and political affairs. He also carried that burden 
and that mantle very well.
  So, Mr. Speaker, it is a sad thing for me personally that I will 
never see Uly again, going back to San Diego and sitting down with 
folks who give me great advice on national security. I know the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham) would say the same thing. 
Uly Sharp was a great American and really served our country well. God 
bless him.

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