[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 135 (Saturday, November 20, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2083-E2084]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             ON THE PASSING OF REAR ADM. MAURICE BRESNAHAN

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 19, 2004

  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, since the earliest days of sailing, ship 
captains have had to be many things to their crew--teacher, mentor, 
role-model, even friend. Rear Admiral Maurice Bresnahan was the living 
embodiment of this tradition to the thousands of sailors who crossed 
his wake.
  After a 30-year career in the US Navy that took him to the ranks of 
ship captain and command of a surface warfare group during the first 
Gulf War, it would have been understandable for this warrior to simply 
retire and take up a hobby. But, when the Commonwealth called and asked 
him to serve as president of Massachusetts Maritime Academy, he 
embraced the challenge.
  Of course, challenge is an understatement. Admiral Bresnahan 
inherited a school whose training ship was unseaworthy, and the Academy 
lacked the financial resources to sustain its core curriculum.
  I first met Admiral Bresnahan--my Admiral--when I was a newly-minted 
Congressman. He spoke so passionately about the Academy and its role in 
ensuring the future of the maritime industry that I was tempted to 
enlist myself. He was a man with a vision that would transform this 
small, but proud, school on the banks of Buzzards Bay into a world-
class institution.
  It was not enough that his cadets learn basic seamanship; they also 
had to be renaissance men and women--equally at home on the deck of a 
ship or the halls of an art museum. He demanded excellence--and got it. 
An inspiring presence on the drill field, cadets wanted to be like and 
near him. His sailors were well-rounded and well prepared for the 
Merchant Marine of the 21st Century.
  Every sailor learns to use the stars to guide them on their journey. 
In the case of Maurice Bresnahan, the stars on his shoulders denoted 
more than just a rank. They were guideposts of integrity, compassion 
and duty.
  I commend to my colleagues the following Boston Herald commentary on 
his passing.

               [From The Boston Herald, November 9, 2004]

          Maurice Bresnahan, Massachusetts Maritime President

       Rear Admiral Maurice J. Bresnahan Jr. of Centerville, U.S. 
     Navy retired, president of the Massachusetts Maritime 
     Academy, died Saturday of a brain tumor at his home. He was 
     68.
       Admiral Bresnahan was a 1954 graduate of Mission Hill High 
     School in Roxbury, and a 1959 graduate of Massachusetts 
     Maritime Academy. He received his commission in 1959, served 
     on five combatant ships and commanded the USS A.M. Sumner (DD 
     692) and USS Damato (DD 871).
       He served as special assistant to the chief of Naval 
     Operations in the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., following his 
     graduation from the Naval War College in Newport, R.I.
       Returning to the Pacific Fleet after completion of the 
     Combined Arms Warfare Course at the Naval War College, 
     Admiral Bresnahan took command of the Military Sealift 
     Command (Far East) and assumed duties as commander of the 
     Seventh Fleet Logistic Task Force Group headquartered in 
     Yokohama, Japan.
       Upon promotion to Flag Rank, he was appointed commander of 
     Surface Reserve Forces and commander of Naval Surface Group 
     Six, made up of anti-submarine warfare frigates home ported 
     in the Atlantic and Gulf Coast. These commands were 
     recognized with Meritorious Unit Commendations for their 
     service during the Gulf War.
       Admiral Bresnahan had been serving as president of 
     Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay since April 
     1998. Prior to that he served for four years as the college's 
     vice president of external affairs and marine operations.
       Admiral Bresnahan presided over a dramatic increase in 
     student population at the college and a major campus 
     expansion.
       He also led the effort to replace the former academy 
     training ship Patriot State with a modern vessel and saw his 
     efforts come to fruition when the newly refurbished training 
     ship Enterprise sailed on her maiden voyage last winter.

[[Page E2084]]

       Total capital improvements to the campus during his watch 
     exceeded $60 million. He expanded the college curriculum and 
     established the academy's first master's degree, an M.S. in 
     facilities management. Admiral Bresnahan believed that one of 
     his most significant accomplishments at the academy was 
     establishing the Emery Rice Scholarship, an award dedicated 
     to academic excellence that is awarded to five incoming 
     cadets each year.
       Admiral Bresnahan's military awards include the 
     Distinguished Service Medal, three Legions of Merit, the 
     Meritorious Service Medal, two Commendation medals, and many 
     other unit and personal awards.
       Admiral Bresnahan was an active member of the American 
     Bureau of Shipping, Boston Marine Society, Columbia 
     University Maritime Advisory Board, the Naval Reserve 
     Association and the New York Yacht Club and was past chairman 
     of the Council of Presidents of the Massachusetts State 
     Colleges and past chairman of the Consortium of State 
     Maritime Academies.
       He also served as a lay Eucharistic minister at Our Lady of 
     Victory Parish in Centerville, and was a past member of 
     Kiwanis.
       Admiral Bresnahan is survived by his wife, Alice; one 
     daughter, Julie Pinero of Sandwich; one son, Maurice 
     Bresnahan III of Columbia, S.C.; and five grandchildren.

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