[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 109 (Tuesday, July 22, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9698-S9699]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN REMEMBRANCE OF STROM THURMOND

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in 
the Record my remarks of December 9, 2002, before the U.S. Capitol 
Historical Society.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       ``Who well lives, long lives; for this age of ours should 
     not be numbered by years, days and hours.''
       We are gathered here today to salute a friend and colleague 
     who has lived long and spent his days well.
       Strom Thurmond has been a teacher, an athletic coach, an 
     educational administrator, a lawyer, a State legislator, a 
     circuit court judge, a county superintendent, a soldier, a 
     Presidential nominee, and a Governor--and all of that was 
     packed into just his first 52 years.
       In 1954, Strom won his first election to the Senate as a 
     write-in candidate--beginning

[[Page S9699]]

     his Senate sojourn with the singular achievement of being the 
     only person in history to be elected to the Senate in that 
     fashion.
       As he began his Senate service with a ``first'' he also 
     leaves it by setting two more records--that of being the 
     longest serving Senator in U.S. history and also being the 
     oldest person to serve in the U.S. Senate. May I note here 
     that he is also the only person in the Senate who is old 
     enough to be my big brother. But, Strom, like Casey Stengel, 
     I'll never make the mistake of being 70 again.
       Strom Thurmond's life is not just about length and 
     achievement, it is about personal service and commitment.
       Now, I am not speaking here about Strom's well-known 
     appreciation for the gentler sex. I am speaking about his 
     love of his country and his commitment to serve it.
       Consider the fact that Strom Thurmond volunteered for 
     service in World War II. He did that when he could have 
     stayed safely at home. Strom was beyond draft age in 1942. 
     Additionally, as a judge, he held draft-exempted status. Yet 
     he went. And in 1944, Strom Thurmond was part of D-Day--the 
     invasion of the beaches of Normandy that signaled the defeat 
     of worldwide fascism. He risked his life to serve the nation 
     he loved.
       After the war, Strom Thurmond served the State that he 
     loved by becoming its Governor.
       In 1948, Governor Strom Thurmond tried again to serve the 
     country that he loved by running for President as a States 
     rights Democrat. He carried four States and won 39 electoral 
     votes. Undaunted, in 1954 Strom found another way to serve 
     his beloved State and country by being elected to the U.S. 
     Senate. It is in this role, that of U.S. Senator, that we 
     have come to understand the extraordinary service of this 
     man from South Carolina.
       Strom Thurmond is a man who, because of the quantity of his 
     years, has seen enormous change--the rise and fall of Nazi 
     Germany; the Russian Revolution; the rise and fall of the 
     Soviet empire; two world wars; space exploration; civil 
     rights upheaval; and incredible advances in technology and 
     medicine. Indeed, the world is very different from the one 
     that Strom Thurmond knew as a young man. He has been witness 
     to the ``vicissitudes of fortune, which spares neither man 
     nor the proudest of his works, which buries empires and 
     cities in a common grave.''
       And yet Strom has never lost his desire to serve, to make 
     his contribution, to add his voice and his views to the rich 
     conglomeration of beliefs and viewpoints which, when mixed 
     together, yield an idea called America.
       Strom is never one to become discouraged, disheartened or 
     disenchanted. He loves his country, and he has been a 
     faithful and devoted defender of the Nation's need for a 
     strong defense. No summer soldier, no sunshine patriot, he.
       Youth is not a time of life--it is a state of mind. It is 
     not a matter of red cheeks, red lips and supple knees. It is 
     a temper of the will; a quality of the imagination. Youth 
     means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, 
     of the appetite for a adventure over a life of ease. This 
     often exists in a man of 50, more than in a boy of 20. Nobody 
     grows old by merely living a number of years; people grow old 
     by deserting their dreams.
       Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm 
     wrinkles the soul.
       Whether 70 or 16, there is in every being's heart a love of 
     wonder; the sweet amazement at the stars and starlike things 
     and thoughts.
       You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as 
     young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young 
     as your hope, as old as your despair.
       In the central place of your heart, there is a wireless 
     station. So long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, 
     cheer, grandeur, courage, and power form the Earth, from men 
     and from the Infinite--so long are you young. When the wires 
     are all down and the central places of your heart are covered 
     with the snows of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then are 
     you grown old, indeed!
       In the words of Pericles: ``It is only the love of honor 
     that never grows old.''
       Today, it is not the length but the quality of Strom 
     Thurmond's life which we celebrate. For that marvelous life 
     of character and courage I salute him. It is a privilege to 
     know him, an honor to serve with him, and an education to 
     ponder his remarkable life.


                   Multiplication Table of Happiness

     Count your garden by the flowers
     Never by the leaves that fall;
     Count your days by the sunny hours,
     Not remembering clouds at all;
     Count your nights by stars, not shadows,
     Count your life by smiles, not tears,
     And on this beautiful December afternoon,
     Count your age by friends, not years.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
American political icon, patriot, war hero, and lifelong South 
Carolinian, Senator Strom Thurmond. While many will recall Senator 
Thurmond's half-century career on the political stage, I shall fondly 
remember the many kindnesses he extended to my family and me. He was a 
warm-hearted, gentle man, and I will count it as one of my life's 
honors to have served with him in the U.S. Senate.
  I join my colleagues in extending my heartfelt condolences to his 
family who have lost a beloved husband, father, and grandfather. Strom 
was a legend in the Senate and touched many of us during his long 
career. In fact, I will always remember Senator Thurmond's 90th 
birthday party when he turned to the audience and said, ``If you all 
eat right, exercise, and don't drink whiskey, you'll be here for the 
100th birthday party.'' Strom Thurmond was a remarkable American; I 
don't think we'll see another one like him for a long time, if ever.
  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, we mourn the loss of Strom Thurmond, the 
legendary Senator who held his first public office in the late 1920s 
and who died on June 27 in his hometown of Edgefield, SC. The State of 
South Carolina lost a beloved native son and the Senate lost a 
cheerful, robust, honorable, and dedicated colleague. He was someone 
who was always eager to help me and to accommodate my concerns. It was 
an honor to work with him on issues of national defense, foreign 
policy, and many other matters important to the people of the United 
States.
  South Carolinians' outpouring of respect when he died was massive. 
Senator Thurmond had been a judge, a soldier who landed in Normandy as 
a member of the 82nd Airborne Division in 1942, a Governor of South 
Carolina, and chairman of the Judiciary and Armed Services committees 
in this body. He was also someone who changed his mind on an issue of 
great import--race in America--and he was a fine example to his fellow 
citizens on that score.
  Strom Thurmond was an indomitable spirit. He represented continuity 
in the U.S. Senate, becoming, in 1996, its oldest serving Member and, 
in 1997, its longest serving Member. Those are for the record books. 
But on a personal level, I can say I admired tremendously his buoyant 
spirit. I appreciated him for assisting me in so many ways, and for his 
stalwart service to our country.

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