[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 98 (Monday, July 24, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S8127]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO JACK MICHAELS

 Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, today I wish to honor Jack 
Michaels, a decorated veteran and a lifelong advocate for veterans and 
disabled persons and their families all over the country. It has been 
my sincere pleasure to work with him to forward these efforts and I 
wish him all the best in his retirement from his post as Executive 
Director of the Northwest Paralyzed Veterans Association. His 
remarkable record of service reminds us all that one person's efforts 
can improve the lives of many.
  The effects of Jack's advocacy can be felt in many ways. Jack served 
courageously as a Captain in the United States Army from 1966 to 1971 
and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, a Purple Heart, and 
other honors. After being shot down in combat and incurring a severe 
spinal cord injury, Jack realized his service to the United States was 
far from over; rather, it was just beginning.
  We see Jack's influence in our national civil rights legislation. 
During Jack's tenure as the National President of Paralyzed Veterans of 
America, he worked tirelessly to facilitate the passage of landmark 
civil rights legislation, the Americans with Disabilities Act.
  We see Jack's influence in the Puget Sound area. He provides 
expertise in accessibility and has served on public projects including 
Safeco Field, Seahawks Stadium, Benayora and McCaw Halls, and Seattle's 
new City Hall and Regional Justice Center, just to name a few. His 
leadership enabled the Northwest Paralyzed Veterans Association to 
provide expertise to enable Amtrak's Cascades to become the first fully 
accessible train in America. His continued efforts to make SeaTac 
International Airport more accessible for the disabled will result in a 
new over-sized disabled passenger vehicle parking lot to be dedicated 
by Memorial Day this spring.
  We see Jack's influence in Seattle's public transportation system. 
While working with the Washington Coalition for Citizens with 
Disabilities, of which he was a co-founder, and the Northwest Chapter 
Paralyzed Veterans of America, which he founded, Jack advocated for a 
totally accessible public transit system, which became a reality at 
King's County METRO 20 years later.
  We see Jack's influence in the lives of hundreds of disabled 
veterans, for whom he has delivered, often personally, adaptive 
equipment in a donation program he created that provides free 
wheelchairs and hospital beds to those in need.
  Throughout his service and advocacy, Jack never forgot his brothers 
and sisters in arms, both past and present. Through his words and his 
works, Jack constantly reminded American policymakers and citizens 
alike of the bravery, honor, and sacrifice military service entails. He 
reminded us of our national obligation to take care of our veteran 
population and to create a system with the capacity to provide for 
future veterans. He reminds us that the absolute least we can do to 
thank the courageous men and women who put their lives in jeopardy 
every day to protect our rights is provide for them and their families 
when their service is complete. With the aging Vietnam and Korean war 
veteran population and ever growing number of Iraq veterans returning 
home, it is on all of us to continue Jack's work for veterans and never 
to forget the example he set.
  You might notice the frequent use of a single word throughout this 
recounting of Jack's military and civilian experience: served. Jack 
dedicated his life to service, first when he volunteered for the Army, 
then in countless other volunteer and advocacy endeavors. He gave his 
time and expertise in exchange for the satisfaction of effecting change 
and improving the lives of others, many of whom he may never meet. 
Rather than react with anger or despair to his harrowing combat injury, 
Jack treated it as a call to action. Jack's work has given opportunity 
to thousands of veterans and disabled Americans and left a legacy of 
service that will continue to touch lives for decades to come.

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