[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 27, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E56]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             IN RECOGNITION OF THE LIFE OF EARL McCANDLESS

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                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 27, 2004

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, Colonel Earl McCandless lived in Solana 
Beach, California, near my Congressional District--and he and his 
family have been longtime friends of mine. Earl McCandless died last 
December 8, 2003, and I think his passing should be noted by the House 
of Representatives. He was a true Korean War hero, as well as being a 
musical genius who entertained Presidents and captains of industry at 
the Bohemian Grove in Northern California.
  Mr. Speaker, I submit for inclusion in the Record at this time a 
wonderful outline of his life, as written in his obituary in the Daily 
Oklahoman, Oklahoma's largest daily newspaper.

       Earl R. ``Mac'' McCandless, accomplished pianist, retired 
     Army Colonel and former military aide to Presidents Dwight 
     Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy, died Monday (12/8) of cancer 
     in San Diego. He was 78. Before entering elementary school, 
     McCandless discovered he had a gift for music. Without ever 
     taking a lesson, he taught himself piano and organ, a talent 
     that would later pay his way through his studies at UCLA and 
     land him a job in his 20s playing background music on Art 
     Linkletter's ``House Party.''
       He enlisted in the Army right after graduating from Hobart 
     High School (Hobart, Oklahoma) in 1943, served briefly in 
     Guam and remained in the Army Reserve after his discharge in 
     1946. McCandless had just begun what seemed a promising 
     career in music on Linkletter's show, when he was called up 
     again to serve in the Korean War, in the Army Medical Service 
     Corps. During his service there he was awarded a Silver Star 
     and a Bronze Star. After another discharge and another call 
     back, this time to Germany in 1953, McCandless decided to 
     make the Army his career.
       He earned a Masters' degree in hospital administration, and 
     at one point in his career oversaw CHAMPUS, the Army's 
     medical insurance program. As a handsome, unmarried young 
     officer stationed in Washington, DC, he was offered the off-
     hours job of serving as a military social aide to President 
     Eisenhower. The task involved attending State dinners and 
     other formal White House functions, giving discreet protocol 
     instructions to guests, escorting single women through 
     receiving lines and whispering names of guests in the 
     President's ear. He continued the social staffing duties 
     through the administration of President Kennedy. He was a 
     staunchly liberal Democrat who diplomatically avoided 
     political discussions with many in his mostly conservative 
     circle of friends, offering a drink or a ``tune'' to change 
     the subject.
       Col. McCandless retired from the Army in 1976 and settled 
     in Solana Beach, where his small condominium overlooking the 
     Pacific Ocean was dominated by a grand piano and his wall-to-
     wall collection of music on albums and tapes. Though devoted 
     to his Army career, music was always a strong avocation. He 
     enlivened hundreds of parties and events with his piano 
     playing, and in his later years wrote, arranged and played 
     two full musical productions for the Bohemian Club in 
     Northern California.
       He is survived by his brothers Jack McCandless of Denver, 
     John McCandless of Oklahoma City, Bob McCandless of 
     Washington, DC, and sisters-in-law Betty and Anne McCandless 
     of Oklahoma City. Services will be private. Memorials can be 
     made to the McCandless Fund, in memory of Earl and his 
     mother, Leah, c/o Oklahoma University College of Fine Arts, 
     540 Parrington Oval, Rm. 122, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019. Checks 
     should be made payable to the OU Foundation.

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