[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 153 (Wednesday, October 21, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2599]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IN MEMORY OF REAR ADMIRAL WAYNE E. MEYER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. IKE SKELTON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 21, 2009

  Mr. SKELTON. Madam Speaker, it is with great sadness that I inform 
the House of the death of Rear Admiral Wayne E. Meyer. He is known as 
the ``Father of Aegis'' for his 13 years of work on the Aegis Weapons 
systems.
  Adm. Meyer was born in Brunswick, Missouri, on April 21, 1926. In 
1943, he enlisted with the Navy. While serving with the Navy, he 
graduated from the University of Kansas in 1946 with a B.S. in 
Electrical Engineering. He also obtained a B.S. in Electrical 
Engineering and M.S. in Astronautics and Aeronautics from Massachusetts 
Institute of Technology. Additionally, he received a B.S. in Electrical 
Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. His engineering 
education would later help with his work on developing advanced weapons 
systems for the Navy.
  One of Adm. Meyer's first assignments found him manning the radar of 
the USS Goodrich only after 11 months of radar and sonar training at 
M.I.T. In the post-World War II period, he served as part of the 
occupation forces in the Mediterranean, China, and Japan seas. Upon his 
return to the U.S., he enrolled and taught in variety of schools from 
1951-1955. These included studying at the Joint Guided Missile School 
in Fort Bliss, Texas, and the Naval Line School in Monterey, 
California. He later was instructor at the Special Weapons School in 
Norfolk Virginia. Following his studies at Monterey and M.I.T., he was 
ordered to the USS Galveston, where he served as Gunnery Sergeant and 
eventually oversaw the conversion to the first Talos missiles on the 
cruiser.
  In 1963, he was chosen to serve in the Navy Task Force for Surface 
Guided Missile Systems. Later, he was also appointed to assist with the 
analog to high-speed digital system transition on 30 Terrier-armed 
ships. He became the Director of Engineering at the Naval Ship Missile 
Systems Engineering Station in 1967. Three years later, he was called 
to Washington, D.C., to head the Aegis Weapons System. In the following 
years, he was named supervisor of many projects, including the Surface 
Missile Systems and Surface Warfare. In January 1975, he was chosen for 
Rear Admiral. Shortly after his selection, he became the founding 
Project Manager of Aegis Shipbuilding, and, in 1983, he was reassigned 
as Deputy Commander, Weapons and Combat Systems, Naval Sea Systems 
Command. Eventually, he retired from active duty in 1985.
  In his retirement, Adm. Meyer served in a variety of consulting 
positions, including assisting the Surface Navy and the Missile Defense 
Agency's development of missile defense capability for the nation's 
Aegis fleet and serving on many committees chartered by Department of 
Defense personnel.
  Madam Speaker, Admiral Wayne E. Meyer was an honorable officer in the 
military. I am certain that the members of the House will join me in 
extending their heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. He 
will be greatly missed.

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