[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 46 (Tuesday, March 20, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1844-S1845]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO WOODY HARRELL

 Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, on the occasion of his upcoming 
retirement, I

[[Page S1845]]

want to take this opportunity to commend Mr. Woody Harrell, 
Superintendent of Shiloh National Military Park, and a true scholar of 
the Civil War. On April 6th and 7th, Shiloh National Military Park will 
commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first major Civil War battle 
in the western theater. Shortly after the conclusion of these 
sesquicentennial activities, Woody Harrell will step down as Park 
Superintendent. His contributions to the State of Mississippi and his 
leadership within the National Park Service Civil War community will 
have a significant and long-lasting positive impact on this Nation.
  A North Carolina native, Superintendent Harrell began his career at 
Moores Creek National Military Park in the summer of 1968. After 
service in the United States Army, he worked at the three parks of the 
Cape Hatteras group, most famously presenting a ``living history'' 
portrayal of aviation pioneer Orville Wright. He later served as 
Director of Visitor Services under the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, and 
as an instructor at the Horace Albright Training Center. However, the 
majority of his career has been spent working on Civil War sites, known 
by many in the National Park Service as the ``Cannonball Circuit.'' In 
addition to his time at Shiloh Battlefield, Superintendent Harrell's 
previous assignments include Historian at Chickamauga and Chattanooga 
National Military Park for 6 years and for 3 years at Manassas National 
Battlefield Park. Recently, he represented the National Service as an 
advisor to several Civil War Sesquicentennial planning groups.
  Serving in his current capacity since August 28, 1990, Superintendent 
Harrell has the distinct honor of having the longest tenure of any 
manager in Shiloh Park's 117-year history. During a time of budget 
constraints and limited resources, Superintendent Harrell has not only 
maintained Shiloh's status as America's best preserved battlefield, he 
has overseen a major expansion of the park into Mississippi with the 
creation of a new Corinth Unit. By bringing together local, State, and 
national stakeholders to identify and prioritize key surviving Civil 
War resources, Harrell was able to build a consensus for a 
comprehensive plan to preserve and interpret 18 nationally significant 
sites in northern Mississippi and southwest Tennessee. This broad 
support resulted in over 1,000 acres of battlefields, fortifications, 
and campsites being added to the Corinth Unit.
  Superintendent Harrell is credited as the visionary force in planning 
and constructing the flagship of this addition, the award-winning 
Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center. While National Park Service 
Interpretation at Shiloh had formerly concentrated only on the 2-day, 
1862 battle, the Corinth facility now allows visitors to fully explore 
the whole story of the Civil War, from the causes and coming of the 
war, to the impact of multiple military occupations of Corinth on the 
civilian population, and especially to the important first steps 
towards full citizenship taken by over 6,000 formerly enslaved people 
at the Corinth Contraband Camp site.
  Seeking to establish a natural buffer around historic Shiloh Hill, 
thus preventing future encroachment and inappropriate development, 
Superintendent Harrell has partnered with the Civil War Trust on Shiloh 
Battlefield's most ambitious land acquisition program in over 75 years. 
Over 300 additional acres within Shiloh's original 1894 authorized 
boundary are now under National Park Service protection.
  Stressing preservation, commemoration, and education, Superintendent 
Harrell for over 2 decades has partnered with neighboring communities 
to promote resource protection and heritage tourism. At Corinth, he has 
worked with the local business community to create an annual Heritage 
Festival that includes 12,000 luminaries: one for each American soldier 
killed, wounded, or missing at the Siege and Battle of Corinth.
  Even before the advent of the Internet, Superintendent Harrell 
conceived the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, an idea that has 
grown into a searchable electronic database with 6.2 million records on 
Civil War veterans. This innovative and ambitious Park Service project 
allows visitors to access information on relatives and the units in 
which they fought, enabling families to trace an ancestor's service 
throughout the war. All of the data entry for this project was done by 
volunteers, with support groups ranging from the Mormon Church to the 
United Daughters of the Confederacy.
  During the 1990s, Harrell partnered with the Corps of Engineers and 
the Federal Highway Administration to halt riverbank erosion at the 
Shiloh Indian Mounds National Historic Landmark, a problem that had 
plagued the park for over 20 years. During the mitigation archeology 
phase of this project, Superintendent Harrell worked closely with the 
Chickasaw Nation to insure the tribe's involvement in preserving key 
cultural resources in the Shiloh portion of their original homeland.
  One of Superintendent Harrell's final duties will be to premier a new 
Shiloh documentary film as part of the battle's sesquicentennial 
events. Entitled ``Shiloh: Fiery Trial,'' this new movie replaces 
``Shiloh: Portrait of a Battle,'' which has been shown continuously at 
the park since 1956. Filmed with the participation of over 350 Civil 
War re-enactors, ``Shiloh: Fiery Trial'' will soon be shown for the 
first time and then broadcast on many PBS stations on the eve of 
Shiloh's 150th anniversary. It is fitting that Harrell not only served 
as executive producer for the project, but also makes a brief cameo 
appearance handing a message to General Grant.
  Since March 2007, Woody has maintained a record of visiting every 
unit of the National Park System. In the past year, he added Martin 
Luther King, Jr., Memorial, Paterson Great Falls National Historical 
Park, and Fort Monroe National Monument to his list, which now stands 
at 397 parks. I know Superintendent Harrell and his family will enjoy 
the new opportunities that come with retirement, as I understand his 
wife Cynthia and he have already made plans to hike the entire length 
of the Appalachian Trail.
  Superintendent Harrell's career with the National Park Service has 
been marked with unprecedented accomplishments and is a superb legacy. 
His exceptional leadership qualities and cultural preservation eminence 
are in the best tradition of the Park Service. He is a consummate 
professional whose performance in over 43 years of service has 
personified those traits of competency and integrity that our Nation 
has come to expect of its senior civilian leaders. On the occasion of 
his upcoming retirement, I wish the Harrell family all the very best in 
the years to follow.

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