[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 20, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S47-S48]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO FRED ROSENBAUM

 Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today I honor Fred Rosenbaum, a 
brigadier general, businessman, public servant, philanthropist, 
Holocaust survivor and one of Oregon's greatest residents. I have known 
few others who matched Fred's courage and dedication to improving the 
lives of every American. Although cancer may have taken Fred from this 
world, nothing can take away the remarkable legacy he left to Oregon 
and the Nation as a whole.
  From his childhood as a Jew in Nazi Germany, Fred Rosenbaum saw the 
worst of humanity. Growing up in Vienna, Austria, Fred experienced the 
anti-Semitic riots of Kristallnacht

[[Page S48]]

first-hand. At age 12, shortly after Kristallnacht, school officials 
attempted to round up Fred and his Jewish classmates in a school 
basement, for eventual capture by the Nazi SS. Fred narrowly escaped 
them by crawling out a window and eventually finding his way to 
England. From England, Fred helped his parents escape from Austria.
  Fred and his family eventually immigrated to Portland, OR, to start a 
new life. Within just a few years, Fred began serving his new country. 
At age 16, Fred lied about his age and joined the Army, serving in the 
Philippines. In a sense, Fred experienced both fronts of the Second 
World War.
  Fred's service to his country extended for long after the conclusion 
of the war. After Fred returned home, he joined the Oregon National 
Guard and, by his retirement in 1986, earned the rank of brigadier 
general.
  At the same time, Fred built up a successful insurance business and 
employed his success for the public good. He chaired Portland's Housing 
Authority for 13 years, served as president of the Oregon Museum of 
Science and Industry, served on the board of trustees of Reed College, 
and became an associate national commissioner of the Anti-Defamation 
League. Service to others was an essential part of Fred's life, and we 
are all richer for it.
  However, if the name ``Rosenbaum'' lives on in Oregon for one reason, 
it is his work improving the lives of children. Fred drew upon his 
experience both as an officer in the Oregon National Guard and as a 
chairman of the Housing Authority of Portland to create a summer camp 
for at-risk youth. He founded the camp 40 years ago, and the camp 
continues to operate to this day, buoyed by Fred's tireless dedication 
to its fundraising and survival.
  The camp, located at the National Guard's Camp Rilea and now called 
``Camp Rosenbaum'' in Fred's honor, provides pre-teens who live in 
public housing with an opportunity to fill their days with sports, the 
arts, and computer skills, while counselors and the Portland Police 
Bureau educate the children on the dangers of gangs and drugs. For many 
of the young and impoverished campers, it gives them their first chance 
to see the Pacific Ocean, and that moment always excites the kids. For 
the first time in their lives, they see a limitless horizon and Camp 
Rosenbaum helps them see that their potential is just as limitless.
  Even though Fred has passed away, Camp Rosenbaum will continue to 
educate and engage at-risk youth. He would ask for nothing more.
  Fred lived a life of service that immeasurably benefited both America 
and Oregon, and his legacy will live on for long after his passing. Not 
satisfied to just improve his own life, Fred dedicated himself to 
giving every child an opportunity to achieve their dreams.
  His life is an inspiration to refugees everywhere, and a 
demonstration of the promise our country offers to those in even the 
direst of straits. Oregon and America have lost a humble hero who 
achieved greatness by helping others. Living up to his example of 
kindness and caring is a challenge he left to us all. Every American 
should rise to that challenge and give back to their communities and 
our country as much as Fred did. It would be a fitting tribute to an 
extraordinary man and a great American.

                          ____________________