[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 112 (Thursday, June 29, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3839-S3840]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                  Tribute to Solomon ``Sol'' Atkinson

  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, every week I have been coming down to 
the floor of the Senate to talk about a special Alaskan, someone in my 
State who, through their hard work and community service, whether to 
their neighbors or to their country, makes Alaska a better place for 
all of us. We call these people the Alaskans of the Week. Learning 
about these individuals and sharing their stories with my Senate 
colleagues, Alaskans, and Americans who watch what we do here or who 
are in the gallery, is probably one of the best parts of my week every 
week.
  Like most of my colleagues, I will soon be going home for the Fourth 
of July. We will celebrate this very special holiday with our families 
and our communities. Some of us will go to barbecues or march in 
parades or attend other community gatherings. Some of us will gather in 
spots across our State and watch fireworks. Personally, I will be with 
my family catching king salmon at my family's ancestral fish camp up on 
the Yukon River, one of my favorite places in the entire world.
  Regardless of where we are, all of us will certainly feel a swell of 
pride for our country. We will remember the hard-fought battles that 
brought us independence, and we will remember those who have served and 
sacrificed to keep our country the land of the free and the home of the 
brave. They are the heroes among us, and Alaska is chock-full of these 
heroes.
  Today I want to recognize one of them, a very special hero who is our 
Alaskan of the Week--Solomon Atkinson, who spent nearly his entire 
adult life serving our country with honor and dignity and now serves 
his community in Alaska tirelessly.
  Let me tell you a little bit about Sol and his illustrious career in 
the military. Sol was born in 1930 to Harris and Elizabeth Atkinson in 
Metlakatla, AK.
  Metlakatla is on Annette Island on the Inside Passage, where so many 
Americans take cruises to see the glaciers and the whales. It is home 
to the only federally recognized Indian reservation in our State.
  Sol could have continued to live in Metlakatla, where he was a 
commercial fisherman as a young man, but, like so many patriotic 
Alaskans, he chose to leave his home and join the military. Sol joined 
the U.S. Navy, and for 22 years--from 1951 to 1973--he had by anybody's 
standards a remarkable patriotic military career.
  In 1953, Sol volunteered for the Navy's legendary Underwater 
Demolition Team and was deployed to the Pacific, including Korea. Some 
history buffs will know and recall that the Underwater Demolition Team, 
the UDT, was the precursor to the present-day Navy SEALS--frogmen, as 
they liked to call themselves. In fact, Sol was on the very first Navy 
SEAL team created by President Kennedy in 1962, and I have a copy of 
the SEAL Team One plank owners certificate, commissioned on January 1, 
1962, with Sol's name proudly displayed.
  So Sol became a Navy SEAL--the first Navy SEAL, literally. He became 
a SEAL team training instructor, training new Navy SEAL recruits. He 
was affectionately referred to as ``the Mean Machine'' by the Navy 
SEALs. He also had the honor of training 48 astronauts, including Neil 
Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Jim Lovell, just to name a few, in 
underwater weightlessness simulations. His prized possession is a 
framed plaque bearing the signature of all those astronauts, all those 
American heroes whom he trained.
  Sol completed three combat tours in Vietnam. By the time he retired 
from the military, he had earned numerous awards and medals for 
personal valor, including the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. But 
what is truly remarkable about Sol is that after he retired from the 
Navy, he moved back home to Metlakatla and continued to serve his 
country and serve his community. He served on the Indian Community 
Council, on the school board, and as mayor of Metlakatla. He has also 
been very involved in veterans affairs and was the president of the 
first veterans organization on the island and was instrumental in 
starting that organization. He has spent years reaching out to his 
fellow veterans to make sure they receive the benefits, honor, and 
dignity they earned.
  Jeff Moran, the superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 
Metlakatla, said this about Sol:

       I could go on and on regarding the wonderful things that 
     Sol has done for his community. We would not be here today 
     without his leadership and knowledge [and commitment].

  I, too, can go on about Sol. Many Alaskans can go on about Sol and 
all the things he has done. But I also want to mention, particularly on 
the eve of the Fourth of July, that he is part of a long tradition in 
my State of Alaskan Natives who have served in the military, who have 
served our country even during darker times in our history when many 
Alaskan Natives were discriminated against and denied basic rights.
  On the eve of the Fourth of July, we celebrate America's independence 
but also in particular those who have fought for that independence over 
the last 200 years. As I mentioned, one proud element of my great State 
is that we have more veterans per capita than any State in the country, 
and Alaska Native veterans serve at higher rates in the U.S. military 
than any

[[Page S3840]]

other ethnic group in the country--something I like to refer to as a 
special kind of patriotism because they have been doing this for 
decades, like Sol--even at times, as I mentioned, when the country 
hasn't always treated that group of patriotic Americans with the 
respect and dignity they deserve. Sol personifies this special 
patriotism.
  The SEALs who served with him wrote this about him in a tribute:

       Sol's story will continue to be told by the men he trained, 
     by the officers who relied on him, by the Frogmen who all 
     respect him. An officer, a gentleman, an athlete, a friend, 
     Sol Atkinson is all of these, but of all of these traits, he 
     is first a Frogman.

  We can see the pride the Navy SEALs have for Sol, a plank owner for 
the entire organization.
  In conclusion, I will add that he is a patriotic Alaskan through and 
through, and I thank him for all he has done for Alaska, for our 
veterans, and for America.
  Sol, congratulations on being our Alaskan of the Week. Happy Fourth 
of July to you, to Alaska, and to all the men and women in our military 
and the citizens of our great Nation.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sasse). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.