[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 63 (Friday, May 7, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E785]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  IN RECOGNITION OF WALTER CRONKITE RECEIVING THE HARRY S TRUMAN GOOD 
                             NEIGHBOR AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. KAREN McCARTHY

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 6, 2004

  Ms. McCARTHY of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I rise in recognition of 
Walter Cronkite, recipient of the 2004 Harry S Truman Good Neighbor 
Award. In 1953, longtime friends arranged an annual birthday luncheon 
for the then-retired 33rd President of the United States, Harry S 
Truman. After his death in 1972, the birthday celebration was continued 
in his honor through a local foundation established to continue to pay 
tribute to his virtues of courage and leadership. Each year, the Harry 
S Truman Good Neighbor Award Foundation recognizes the national and 
international ideals of President Truman and preserves his memory by 
honoring such local individuals and encouraging young people to pursue 
international study.
  This year, the foundation has selected Walter Cronkite to the 
prestigious Good Neighbor Award in recognition of his outstanding 
career in broadcasting. For more than 60 years Americans nightly 
received unbiased and factual national and international wisdom from 
the golden voice of Walter Cronkite. This Northwest Missourian brought 
us reports from the European theater in World War II and reported on 
the Nuremburg trials. His insights to the turbulent 60's awakened us to 
civil rights and human rights issues. He comforted us through the grief 
of three assassinations in that same decade, reporting the dreadful 
news to a shocked nation with his characteristic insight and somber 
vision. When President John F. Kennedy was struck down in November of 
1963, followed by the murder of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. just 
before Palm Sunday in 1968, and then-Senator Robert Kennedy's killing 
on the eve of his California primary victory in June of the same year, 
the loss of these great leaders was all but unbearable, were it not for 
the constant and reassuring presence of Walter Cronkite, reaching out 
to us with straightforward and thoughtful news reporting.
  Walter Cronkite became a war correspondent again in the late 60's 
when he reported to a divided country on Vietnam. Following the Tet 
offensive in January 1968, often considered a turning point in the war, 
Cronkite visited the war torn country and called for diplomatic 
negotiations to end the stalemate. By then, the tide of public opinion 
had begun to turn against the war and President Lyndon B. Johnson 
announced that he would not seek reelection in March of that year. The 
decade ended on a high note, however, when the first manned spacecraft 
was sent to the moon and Walter Cronkite reported the launch with his 
infamous, ``Go Baby, Go.'' On July 20, 1969, he shared the moon landing 
with an awestruck nation in what some called ``Walter to Walter'' 
coverage on CBS news. He provided continuous coverage for the almost 30 
hours it took Apollo XI to complete its mission.
  The 70's brought political scandal and Walter Cronkite reported to 
the nation with accuracy and balance from June 17, 1972, the morning 
after the Watergate breakin, through August 8, 1974, when Richard M. 
Nixon became the first President of the United States to resign from 
office because of scandal. Walter Cronkite's incredible career included 
interviews with international heads of state, while keeping the nation 
informed of worldwide events, as well as audiences with every U.S. 
President since Harry Truman. He officially retired in 1981, but we are 
grateful that he continues to work on documentaries and programs for 
broadcast on PBS and the Discovery and Learning Channels.
  The news has become the information tool that informs, stimulates 
interest, evokes debate, and ultimately protects our democracy. Walter 
Cronkite's dedication to his professional career is exemplary for its 
objective reporting, credibility, and his trademark delivery that has 
made an American icon.
  President Truman's high regard of Walter Cronkite is reflected best 
in a letter to Mr. Raymond E. Dix, President of the Ohio Newspaper 
Association on January 1, 1966.

       Dear Mr. Dix: I was glad to have your letter informing me 
     of the contemplated presentation of the Distinguished Service 
     to Journalism Award to Walter Cronkite. I know of no one more 
     worthy of being so honored by a jury of his peers. For one 
     who has had some slight exposure to the press--the spoken and 
     the written--with some misadventures and collisions along the 
     way, I continue to have a healthy respect for that all 
     important free institution.
       Here and there, over a span of time, some of the 
     practitioners in that estate manage to rise to a special 
     place of their own and become a force in their own right. 
     Walter Cronkite looms large in that category and I always 
     associate him with the quality of never failing credibility.
       Please give Walter my warm personal greetings.
           Sincerely yours,
                                                   Harry S Truman.

  Mr. Speaker, please join me in warm congratulations to our native 
son, Walter Cronkite, for receiving the Harry S Truman Good Neighbor 
Award for his outstanding contribution to journalism and his 
``neverfailing credibility.'' As a role model, he has inspired 
individuals like me to fight the good fight for a just cause, secure in 
the knowledge that armed with the facts and the passion for what is 
right and just, one can make a difference in the lives of others. Thank 
you, Walter Cronkite.

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