[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 176 (Tuesday, October 31, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S6919]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING JAMES ``BOB'' CURRIEO

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to remember the 
life and legacy of one of our Nation's veterans, a longtime staffer, 
and a man whom I was fortunate to call my friend, James ``Bob'' 
Currieo. Following his retirement from my Tucson office in 2013, I am 
grateful that Bob was able to spend his final years with his beloved 
wife, Cecilia, before his passing on October 17, 2017. It is times like 
these that we must reflect on the legacy of such individuals, who chose 
service above self-interest, and Bob's 83-year life and service to our 
Nation and to the great State of Arizona cannot be understated.
  By the time I met Bob in 1982, he had already begun his tenure as the 
national commander-in-chief for the Veterans of Foreign Wars; however, 
his legacy of service began long before. A decorated Korean war 
veteran, Bob honorably served over a 22-year career in the U.S. Army, 
including a fortunate assignment to the U.S. Army Combat Surveillance 
School at Fort Huachuca that would bring him to Arizona. Sierra Vista 
introduced Bob to the rugged and diverse beauty of our great State, a 
place that he would consider home for the remainder of his life.
  I was fortunate that Bob accepted a role in my early Senate staff, 
but so evident was Bob's innate dedication to service that I fully 
understood and supported when he temporarily departed Arizona for the 
opportunity to continue his duties with the VFW as an executive in 
Washington, DC. We stayed in touch over the years, and I was most 
grateful when he returned to his beloved Arizona in 1996 and agreed to 
rejoin my Tucson office. There, he would spend the final 17 years of 
his well-decorated career advocating on behalf of veterans and 
servicemembers.
  Every Senator will likely stress the importance of providing 
constituent services in their home State, but Bob shared and supported 
my strong opinion that, when it came to veterans and servicemembers, 
State lines did not matter. Of the staggering number of cases that Bob 
worked as a constituent advocate for residents of Arizona, nearly as 
many more were for veterans from across the country and indeed across 
the world. He helped them all equally with the same quiet but steadfast 
commitment, and I feel there is truly no measure for how many lives he 
touched and how many men and women he helped by the end of his storied 
career.
  I will forever be thankful that Bob Currieo's intrinsic desire to 
serve put him on a path to Arizona that fortunately crossed my own. I 
will fondly remember the years of friendship and wise counsel that he 
so selflessly gave, and I hope his dear Cecilia will find comfort in 
the immeasurable legacy left behind by such an honorable man.
  Thank you.

                          ____________________