[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 26 (Thursday, February 17, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S864]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    REMEMBERING CLIFFORD R. PHILLIPS

 Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I would like to take a few 
minutes to offer a tribute to Clifford R. Phillips. He passed away on 
December 3, 2010, at his home in Surprise, AZ. He was an Alaskan 
fishing legend and a true hero who fought bravely in the European 
Theater during World War II.
  Cliff was born on December 7, 1919, on the west coast of Vancouver 
Island. His parents, who had originally been involved in the fishing 
industry in England, had immigrated to British Columbia where they 
managed a herring saltery. They later moved to Ketchikan where he 
would, as a very young man, begin his career in Alaskan fisheries. This 
was the age of ``mild cure'' salmon, and starting at the age of seven 
Cliff began learning the family business and the importance of 
producing a high quality product. He continued to work with his father 
in the family business through the 1930s.
  After seeing the devastation and heartache of the beginning of World 
War II, Cliff joined the Alaska National Guard. He trained at Chilkoot 
Barracks in Haines, AK, and was assigned to duties in the Aleutian 
Islands. He was one of the first to fly into the new military airfield 
built in the Pribilof Islands, which is located nearly 500 miles off 
the Siberian coast. The rugged winter saw the Islands iced in. The base 
did not receive supplies by ship for some 9 months, but Cliff and his 
comrades held their ground.
  In September 1944, he transferred to the European Theater and joined 
the Third Army. He participated in the landing at Normandy, and his 
unit later helped to repel the German offensive in ``The Battle of the 
Bulge.'' Cliff managed to make it through combat unscathed, and his 
distinguished service led to his being awarded the Silver Star.
  Upon discharge after World War II, Cliff felt the urge to return to 
Alaska and to his family heritage in the fishing industry. He naturally 
gravitated back to Ketchikan in southeast Alaska so that he could work 
in the waters he knew best.
  In 1950, the Phillips father-son duo built the E.C. Phillips cold 
storage plant on Tongass Narrows in Ketchikan. Cliff and his father 
excelled at increasing capacity, efficiency, and quality. As time went 
by, the E.C. Phillips product became known for its high quality around 
the world, and today it is still known as a premier quality product.
  After the death of his father, Cliff took charge, but he was no desk 
bound executive, and standard working hours did not apply to him. 
During the fishing season he could always be found in the processing 
area of his plant inspecting the fish and supervising operations. Cliff 
sold his product by phone and fax from his Alaskan office to the entire 
United States and around the world. But nothing left the plant until he 
was satisfied that the fish met the E.C. Phillips quality standard.
  Before there was an Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, Cliff was 
Alaska's ambassador for seafood, and he traveled far and wide promoting 
Alaskan seafood products. Cliff remained active in the business well 
into his eighties, but even after he retired from daily operations and 
moved to Arizona he maintained frequent contact with the plant and his 
many friends and customers.
  Everyone found Cliff to be a charming man, eloquent and persuasive, 
but first and foremost he saw it as his mission to insist on high 
quality for all products which carried the E.C. Phillips brand name. I 
extend my sincerest condolences to his wife Dixie and his family 
members. We have all lost a friend, and Alaska's seafood industry has 
lost a great champion. May he rest in peace.

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