[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 132 (Tuesday, December 5, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2074-E2075]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    A TRIBUTE TO ALTON A. BURTON, PE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 5, 2006

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Alton A. 
Burton, PE, a distinguished member of the New York City community. It 
behooves us to pay tribute to this outstanding leader and I hope my 
colleagues will join me in recognizing his impressive accomplishments.
  During the course of history there have been a select few people 
known as visionaries. Mr. Burton is one these visionaries that view our 
world not as it necessarily is, but as it can be.
  Alton A. Burton was a U.S. Air Force lieutenant, serving as 
bombardier, navigator, and pilot during World War II. After 
distinguished service in our Armed Forces as a Tuskegee Airman, Mr. 
Burton pursued the power of ideas through higher education by obtaining 
a Bachelor of Science and Masters Degrees in Civil Engineering. He also 
obtained a license as a Professional Engineer, PE, in the State of New 
York. Soon after receiving his degrees and license, Alton A. Burton, 
PE, joined the staff of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey 
in design engineering. Mr. Burton's assignments included contract plans 
for various facilities, including marine terminals. Little did Mr. 
Burton know that he was being positioned by the hand of destiny for 
something more. During the 1950s and 60s, Mr. Burton toiled in the eye 
of the storm of civil and political unrest, a time of cultural, human 
and civil rights crisis. Against all odds, Alton A. Burton was able to 
understand the situation and conditions of a racially charged 
environment and era that would have been deemed impossible. In 1962, 
the late Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller of New York, appointed Mr. 
Burton the Chief Civil Engineer in charge of the planning phase of the 
multi-billion dollar project known as the World Trade Center.
  In the minds of most Americans, the deeply disturbing images of the 
inferno that engulfed the Twin Towers and then the crumbling to the 
ground after being hit by two hijacked commercial airliners 5 years ago 
on 9-11-01, will never be forgotten. Most of us are unaware that over 
40 years ago, Chief Civil Engineer Alton A. Burton designed and 
fortified the infrastructure, which accounted for the reliability of 
the Twin Tower structures to withstand tremendous force, including that 
of an earthquake. Chief Civil Engineer Alton A. Burton and his team of 
civil engineers had no idea that some 40 or so years later, terrorists 
would fly jets into the towers. Because of the fortification of the 
infrastructure, due to Mr. Burton's vision and preparation for the 
unexpected, the towers as damaged as they were, managed to hold--giving 
our first responders, EMS, NYPD, FDNY and other emergency units a grace 
period to do what they do best, save lives. If not for Chief Civil 
Engineer Alton A. Burton's vision of a fortified infrastructure, the 
World Trade Center's Twin Towers would have immediately toppled to the 
streets below. With steel beams heating to over 3000 degrees F, the 
infrastructure still managed to endure. The North Tower held for 1 hour 
42 minutes and the South Tower for 56 minutes before the total 
collapse. We note with regret that approximately 3,000 lives were lost 
that infamous day and we offer our sincere condolences to their 
families. However, keeping in mind Mr. Burton's efforts to fortify the 
infrastructure with the best materials known to architectural and civil 
engineering at that time, between 10,000 and 20,000 individuals were 
safely evacuated from the towers and surrounding areas, so many more 
lives were saved.
  Chief Alton A. Burton's prolific civil engineering work carries with 
it profound moral and

[[Page E2075]]

philosophical insight, possessing power without arrogance, bringing 
redemptive clarity whose truths have never been more necessary, as we 
honor the lives of those that were lost and their legacy by how we 
live. Alton A. Burton, PE has risen at the age of 82 years-old to 
become a Great American Hero, and we claim him as one of our own, both 
in title and in spirit. As our Nation moves forward with a unified 
purpose, we realize that purpose is perhaps more significant than 
outcome. It is what we all become in the process to embrace all of the 
opportunities this country has to offer is the real purpose. Alton A. 
Burton continues to live his life with purpose. The people of the City 
of New York, the United States of America and the world became a better 
place because Mr. Burton has given us all his best; and he has created 
a mark in American history and the world that cannot be erased.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that there are no words too magnanimous to 
fully describe our gratitude; we thank former Chief Civil Engineer 
Alton A. Burton for inspiring modesty, selfless devotion of the 
advancement of humanity, through his devoted service to the United 
States of America.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that it is incumbent on this body to recognize 
that in Alton A. Burton, PE, we have an outstanding citizen worthy of 
the highest respect and esteem, from his community, the City of New 
York and our Nation.

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