[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 191 (Thursday, December 13, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2581-E2582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IN MEMORY OF ADMIRAL WILLIAM H. STEWART

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 13, 2007

  Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to pay 
tribute to the memory of Admiral William H. Stewart, a devoted family 
man, model officer and dedicated community leader.
  A native of Gulf, Texas, Admiral Stewart graduated from Austin High 
School in 1943. He attended the University of Texas at Austin for two 
years before leaving to attend the Coast Guard Academy. He graduated 
from the Academy in 1949 with a Bachelor of Science degree in marine 
engineering and was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Coast Guard.
  The Admiral's distinguished Coast Guard career spanned almost four 
decades. His first assignment was as a deck watch officer aboard the 
Coast Guard cutter Tampa based in Mobile. He then went on to serve as 
operations officer aboard the cutter Newell in Honolulu. In 1954, he 
was assigned to the Fifth Coast Guard District in Norfolk, Virginia, as 
chief of the Military Personnel Branch of the Personnel Division.
  Admiral Stewart returned to Mobile in 1957 as executive officer of 
the cutter Blackthorn. He was sent to Washington, D.C. in 1959 to

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attend George Washington University, where he received his master's 
degree in public administration. Following graduation, he was assigned 
as chief of the Material Management Branch of the Office of the 
Comptroller at Coast Guard Headquarters.
  In 1964, Admiral Stewart returned to the Gulf Coast as executive 
officer of the cutter Sebago based out of Pensacola, Florida. He was 
then assigned as chief of Personnel Division K of the Seventh Coast 
Guard District in Miami. In 1967, he was named commanding officer of 
the cutter, Androscoggin, a cutter he to took to Vietnam in December of 
1967 to participate in Operation Market Time. The Androscoggin remained 
on station in Southeast Asia until August 1968.
  Following this tour of duty, then-Commander Stewart returned to 
Washington, D.C. and served as special assistant to the commandant of 
the Coast Guard before serving as administrative aide to the 
commandant. Then-Captain Stewart was transferred back to Honolulu to 
the Fourteenth Coast Guard District, where he served as chief of the 
operations division and then chief of staff. He once again returned to 
Washington, D.C. in 1976 as deputy chief of staff at Coast Guard 
Headquarters. He was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the rank of 
rear admiral and was named chief of the office of personnel, a position 
he held until 1981, when he was assigned commander of the Eighth Coast 
Guard District in New Orleans, Louisiana.
  As commander of the Eighth Coast Guard District, Admiral Stewart 
worked tirelessly to prevent illegal drug smuggling. In 1983, he 
testified before the House Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and 
Control. During this time, he also served as an advisor to then-Vice 
President George H.W. Bush before his retirement on June 28, 1985.
  Admiral Stewart earned an impressive list of medals and awards over 
the course of his distinguished career, including: the Coast Guard 
Achievement Medal; the Combat Action Ribbon; the Bronze Star Medal 
(with Combat ``V'') and the Gold Star; the Meritorious Service Medal 
(with two Gold Stars); the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with 
Gold Star; and the Legion of Merit.
  Admiral Stewart's retirement certainly was not the end of his service 
to his community, state or nation. Following his retirement from the 
Coast Guard, he served as a Kiwanian, a founding member of the board of 
trustees of the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico, a 
member of the board of governors of the Bienville Club, a past 
president and member of the Mobile Council for the Navy League of the 
United States, a member of the board of directors of the Veterans Day 
Commission, a past chairman and member of the Military Affairs 
Committee of the Mobile Chamber of Commerce, a past division chairman 
of the United Way, a past chairman of the Disaster Service Committee of 
the local Red Cross Chapter, and a member of the board of directors of 
the Alabama Military Hall of Honor at Marion Military Institute.
  As a homeowner on Alabama's Dauphin Island since the 1950s, the 
island was of great importance to him. Admiral Stewart served as a 
member of the board of directors of the Property Owners Association for 
eight years and president for five years. He was a member of a Task 
Force which brought together Islanders and the Auburn University 
Economic Development Institute in the late 1980s. He was also founding 
director as well as second and current chairman of the Dauphin Island 
Foundation.
  Admiral Stewart was married to Laura Hamilton Stewart for more than 
40 years before her untimely death from cancer. Together they raised 
two children, Edward Wilson, who preceded his father in death, and 
Karla Stewart Bohn.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join with me in remembering a 
dedicated community leader and friend to many throughout south Alabama. 
Admiral William H. Stewart loved life and lived it to the fullest, and 
his passing marks a tremendous loss for all of south Alabama. He will 
be deeply missed by many, most especially his wife, Paulette Gerhardt 
Stewart; his daughter and stepdaughters; his grandchildren; his 
extended family; as well as countless friends he leaves behind.
  Our thoughts and prayers are with them all at this difficult time.

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