[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 184 (Tuesday, December 9, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10826-S10827]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO EINAR DYHRKOPP

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, this past Saturday, 1 day before the 
75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, a survivor of a 
different World War II kamikaze bombing died quietly at his home in 
Shawneetown, IL, at the age of 82.

[[Page S10827]]

  Einar Dyhrkopp, business leader, public servant, and patriot, was a 
19-year-old Navy firefighter assigned to the bowels of the USS Aaron 
Ward when the destroyer-minelayer was attacked by 25 kamikaze bombers 
in the battle for Okinawa.
  In the years after World War II, Gen. George C. Marshall was asked if 
America had any secret weapons to win that conflict. General Marshall 
replied, yes, we do, ``the best darn kids in the world.'' Einar was 
just the kind of kid General Marshall was talking about. About 365 men 
were assigned to the USS Aaron Ward; 42 of them burned to death or were 
lost overboard in the 52-minute battle on May 3, 1945. Einar was one of 
the lucky ones: he survived the attack, although his hair was burned to 
his scalp as he fought to douse the ship's flames.
  When the war ended, Einar came home like so many World War II vets, 
found new ways to serve his country. He married Frances, and they had a 
son. He was a banker, a business leader, a livestock and grain farmer 
in southern Illinois, and a great politician. He was elected mayor of 
Shawneetown, IL, where he was born and lived his entire life. He was a 
self-described ``dyed in the wool'' Democrat. He was respected and 
admired by people from both political parties.
  He was also a dedicated public servant. In 1993, Einar Dyhrkopp was 
appointed by President Bill Clinton to the U.S. Postal Service Board of 
Governors and served two terms as the Chairman. During his tenure, the 
Postal Service experienced an unprecedented 5 straight years of 
positive net income. It also enhanced service and increased its ontime 
delivery rate for next-day delivery to 94 percent. He cared about the 
Postal Service's bottom line and its customers. He talked to me so many 
times about issues related to the Postal Service. He cared about the 
workers there too. He once invited picketing postal workers in for 
coffee and cinnamon rolls and, after talking with them, answered all of 
their questions. He visited countless postal facilities, asking 
employees what we can do to make their job better and make our services 
better in the Postal Service. In 2003, the post office in his beloved 
Shawneetown was rededicated and renamed in his honor. Einar had tears 
in his eyes as the tributes were read.
  Mr. Dyhrkopp also served on several Illinois State commissions and 
was a member of the Regional Advisory Board of Southern Illinois 
University Public Policy Institute.
  There was the one curious political chapter in his life. In 1986, 
Einar Dyhrkopp ran what he called a noncampaign for the U.S. Senate. He 
ran on the Illinois Solidarity Party slate, a roster of statewide 
candidates put together by Adlai Stevenson III. Mr. Stevenson, son of 
the two-time Democratic Presidential candidate, had won the Democratic 
nomination for Governor, but that primary had been raided by the 
LaRouche party. He abandoned the Democratic Party ticket after two 
disciples of the extremist Lyndon LaRouche won slots on the Democratic 
slate in a disastrous primary election. Mr. Stevenson said he could not 
in good conscience share a ticket with people whose views he found so 
objectionable. State law required that the new Illinois Solidarity 
Party field a whole slate of statewide candidates, not just the 
gubernatorial candidate. So Einar stepped up and agreed to be the new 
party's nominee for U.S. Senate.
  What a crazy campaign. Mr. Dyhrkopp did not accept a single penny in 
campaign contributions. He did not spend a dollar or make one speech. 
He did not even vote for himself, announcing he was going to cast his 
ballot for his friend, the incumbent, Senator Alan Dixon. As one 
political writer put it, his strategy was ``not to leave the house 
until the election was over so he wouldn't draw attention or votes away 
from Senator . . . Dixon.'' Despite his best efforts to avoid the 
voters, Einar ended up with 15,000 votes. That is the kind of man he 
was--hard not to like. As my friend Paul Simon said some years ago, 
``Einar Dyhrkopp represents responsible citizenship at its best. He has 
aided his community and provided leadership on the State and national 
scene. He has gone out of his way to help those who need assistance.''
  For years after the bombing of the USS Aaron Ward, Einar did not talk 
about the attack. He told a reporter, ``When you go through something 
like we went through together, almost everyone wants to get it out of 
their minds the first few years.'' Later in life, he changed his mind. 
He became active in a group of survivors of the Aaron Ward attack. He 
was interviewed by Southern Illinois University's public broadcasting 
stations in conjunction with the broadcast of ``The War,'' by Ken 
Burns, a documentary on World War II. He told a reporter that his 
change of heart was simply because ``[w]e do not want the experience 
lost. If you lose history, you're destined to repeat it.''
  America's history might have taken a far different and darker course 
had Einar Dyhrkopp and millions of others of ``the best darned kids in 
the world'' not sacrificed and served in that conflict and had they not 
come back home to serve their Nation in other ways for decades more.
  He was a good man who gave much to his community, much to my State of 
Illinois, and much to America. Last Friday, at the urging of some 
friends who told me he was seriously ill, I called his home. Frances 
answered the phone, and I told her who I was. I said I thought I would 
say a word or two to Einar if he can take the call. Well, she said, I 
am not sure he can talk to you. I did not know how sick he was. And she 
leaned over, and I could overhear her saying: Einar, it is Senator 
Durbin. The next think I knew, Einar was on the phone. We only chatted 
for a minute or two. We talked about the great times we had together, 
about that wonderful man, Paul Simon, who inspired us all to get 
involved in public life.
  He said: I think this is the end for me.
  I said: You have had a good run at it, Einar. You have been with some 
great people, and you have been a great friend.
  Those were our last words. He died the following day.
  I offer my sympathy to Mr. Dyhrkopp's wife Frances, their family, 
including their three grandchildren, and so many friends in southern 
Illinois. Einar Dyhrkopp will be missed.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call 
be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Salazar). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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