[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 132 (Wednesday, October 9, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10221-S10222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  IN RECOGNITION OF MR. ALBERT JOHNSON

 Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. President, I rise to recognize the ongoing 
efforts of my friend and fellow Tennessean, Mr. Albert Wm. Johnson of 
Nashville. Mr. Johnson is chairman and CEO of Dobson & Johnson 
Financial, a leading national mortgage banking advisory firm since its 
founding in 1955.
  Let me say that Albert Johnson continues to enjoy a remarkable life. 
Upon graduation from college, he entered the military service as an 
aviation cadet en route to a distinguished military career. Mr. Johnson 
flew 49 missions against German bombing targets in WW II before being 
shot down in Austria and becoming a prisoner of war, POW, until the end 
of the conflict. During his World War II service, Al Johnson 
accumulated numerous decorations, citations, and commendations, 
including the Distinguished Flying Cross, DFC, with two Oak Leaf 
Clusters. After the war, Mr. Johnson was a senior instructor assigned 
to assist the Tennessee Air National Guard until returning to Europe to 
again serve with notable commendation on the NATO staff responsible for 
planning Germany's integration into NATO.
  Upon leaving active military service, Albert Johnson returned to 
Nashville and cofounded Dobson & Johnson, thereby embarking on a 
brilliant business career that has featured the holding of billions of 
dollars in residential mortgage loans in trust for State mutual saving 
banks, insurance companies, pension funds, and private investors. His 
remarkable leadership in the mortgage banking and real estate industry 
has received well-deserved national acclaim and his firm has been 
recognized as one of the largest private business enterprises in 
Nashville.

[[Page S10222]]

  In 1994, for his ``commitment to free enterprise, limited government, 
traditional American values and strong National Defense,'' Albert 
Johnson received the Medal of Freedom from the National Republican 
Senatorial Campaign Committee thereby joining the ranks of other 
distinguished recipients of that award, including former President 
Ronald Reagan, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and 
Retired General Norman Schwarzkopf.
  Recently, I have been advised that Mr. Johnson has embarked on a new 
undertaking that features a joint venture whose mission is to build 
20,000 private homes in Kabul, Afghanistan, using imported capital, 
local Afghanistan labor and materials, and fully funded mortgage loans 
with no down payment and long-term rates to assist that country in 
developing their infrastructure. This sounds like a daunting task. 
Nevertheless, Albert Johnson of Nashville has a track record to suggest 
he is the right man for the job.
  There is very little that Mr. Johnson, an embodiment of American 
values, has not been able to achieve. To the extent that his ongoing 
efforts foster stability and peace in strife torn Afghanistan, I wish 
him well.

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