[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 30, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E638-E639]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IN RECOGNITION OF FATHER OWEN J. MULLEN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DUNCAN HUNTER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 30, 2014

  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Father Owen J. 
Mullen, a dedicated member of my Service Academy Selection Committee 
and an outstanding person who will be celebrating 50 years service as a 
Catholic Priest on May 16, 2014.
  Born in Troy, New York in 1938, Father Mullen attended Mount St. 
Mary's University and Seminary for eight years in Emmitsburg, Maryland 
before being ordained a priest for the Wilmington Diocese in Delaware 
on May 16, 1964. He was then sent to Villanova University in 
Philadelphia in order to obtain a Masters Degree in Educational 
Administration and it was here that he worked for the next 17 years 
serving as both a teacher and a high school administrator. Following 
Villanova, Father Mullen became Pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church 
in Chestertown, Maryland.
  Aside from serving in his church, Father Mullen also proudly served 
our nation. In 1968, he was commissioned a First Lieutenant in the 
Delaware National Guard and in 1979 was transferred into the Army 
Reserves where he was stationed at the United States Military Academy 
Admission Office counseling candidates for West Point. During the 
summer he also served as a Chaplain for the incoming Cadets at Beast 
Barracks and continued doing so for the next 20 years. In 1981, Father 
Mullen accepted a position to become Associate Chaplain at the 
University of San Diego until 1989.
  Father Mullen was again invited to serve our nation's young military 
cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point as an active 
duty Army Lieutenant Colonel Catholic Cadet Chaplain for the United 
States Corps of Cadets, where he served from 1989-1997. Father Mullen 
was then promoted to full Colonel and assigned as the Senior Army 
Chaplain in Hawaii.
  Despite retiring on August 31, 2001, as a Colonel in the US Army 
after 30 years of active and reserve service, Father Mullen continued 
his service by becoming Pastor at Holy Family Parish and Academy until 
June 2004. He then returned to the University of San Diego as a 
University Chaplain with a multitude of responsibilities, including 
Chaplain for the Football, Baseball, Basketball Teams and the Lacrosse 
Club. Father Mullen also found the time to serve as an Advisor to the 
Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity and recently became the twenty-fourth 
alumnus to be elected as Phi Kappa Theta's Fraternity President.
  During his time in San Diego, Father Mullen has served as a member of 
the Service Academy Selection Committee for both me and my father, 
former Congressman Duncan L. Hunter. In this capacity he has provided 
much needed insight and guidance to many young men and women as they 
prepared for careers in the military.
  The common theme throughout Father Mullen's career has been one 
word--service. As Father Mullen knows well, Jesus taught his disciples 
in the Gospel of Matthew, ``But the greatest among you shall be your 
servant.'' This biblical principle has been the standard to Father 
Mullen's approach to any request, challenge or need, and we have all 
benefitted from his commitment to this standard. I ask that my 
colleagues join me in celebrating and thanking Father Mullen for his 50 
years of service to both his community and our nation.

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