[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 134 (Thursday, December 7, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S11491]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 RECOGNIZING CAPTAIN JOHN C. CARMICHAEL

 Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize a 
special anniversary year for a true patriot, a great American and 
fellow Georgian, Captain John C. Carmichael, U.S. Navy, Retired. 
Friends and family back home on St. Simon's Island know him as Jack.
  As a teenager, Jack Carmichael had aspirations of attending West 
Point, his desire being to follow in the great GEN Robert E. Lee's 
footsteps. However, his father died in 1928 when he was only 14 years 
old, leaving his two younger brothers and his mother Kate with heavy 
hearts and tough decisions. At the time, they were living in 
Jacksonville, FL. Kate did not think that schools in Jacksonville or 
Waycross, GA, where they had lived and from where Jack's father hailed, 
were adequate to prepare him for the academic rigors of the service 
academies; therefore, she made the decision to move the family to 
Washington, DC, to live with two aunts in order for Jack to acquire the 
requisite education. He attended Western High School and several 
military academy preparatory schools. During that time he became 
reacquainted with his cousin, John Harllee, who convinced him that the 
Naval Academy was the better path, so Jack reset his goal for 
Annapolis.
  Unfortunately, his Georgia Congressman did not have any available 
Naval Academy slots, so he was referred to a Pennsylvania congressman. 
However, that Congressman only had a West Point slot, so the gentlemen 
referred him to a Congressman in Oklahoma who was able to sponsor Jack 
to attend the Naval Academy.
  Jack's 4 years at the Naval Academy were fast and rewarding, helped 
along by his dear friend and roommate, John Court. Jack graduated on 
June 4, 1936, one of 242 graduates, the smallest graduating class since 
1900.
  During his career as a naval officer, Jack held various assignments 
both at sea and ashore. He served in World War II with the 5th Fleet 
and married his wife, Elizabeth Gordon Ellyson, on October 25, 1944, in 
San Francisco. ``Gordie,'' the name his wife goes by, was the daughter 
of the reputed naval aviator, Theodore Gordon ``Spuds'' Ellyson.
  Jack retired from the Navy in July of 1966 after 30 years of 
distinguished service. He moved Gordie and his family from Key West, 
FL, to St. Simon's Island, back to the nostalgic cottage of his youth 
within close proximity to the wonderful lighthouse. Jack and Gordie 
have enjoyed a full life and traveled much since then, but their center 
is St. Simon's Island and the quaint cottage they affectionately call 
``Homeport.''
  Mr. President, it is indeed an honor and a pleasure to recognize this 
accomplished fellow Georgian from the ``greatest generation,'' some 70 
years after his graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy. He is the 
consummate patriot and citizen, and his distinguished and noteworthy 
service to our Nation is laudable.

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