[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 194 (Wednesday, November 29, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S7407]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 344--HONORING THE LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF DR. ROBERT 
                              LAWRENCE JR

  Mr. NELSON (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Markey, 
Ms. Duckworth, and Mr. Thune) submitted the following resolution; which 
was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 344

       Whereas Robert Lawrence was born on October 2, 1935, in 
     Chicago, Illinois and graduated from Englewood High School at 
     the age of 16;
       Whereas Robert Lawrence began his Air Force career in the 
     Reserve Officer Training Corps when he was a teenager 
     attending Bradley University;
       Whereas Robert Lawrence received an undergraduate degree in 
     chemistry from Bradley University in 1956;
       Whereas Robert Lawrence was commissioned a second 
     lieutenant into the U.S. Air Force upon graduation at age 20;
       Whereas Robert Lawrence completed flight training at Malden 
     Air Force Base in 1956 and was designated a U.S. Air Force 
     pilot;
       Whereas Robert Lawrence was assigned as an instructor pilot 
     for the German air force, flying T-33 trainers at 
     Furstenfeldbruck Air Base near Munich;
       Whereas Robert Lawrence accrued over 2,500 hours of flight 
     time with 2,000 of those hours in jets;
       Whereas Robert Lawrence earned his Ph.D. in 1965, after 
     delivering his doctoral dissertation entitled ``The Mechanism 
     of the Tritium Beta-Ray Induced Exchange Reactions of 
     Deuterium with Methane and Ethane in the Gas Phase'';
       Whereas Robert Lawrence was selected as an astronaut in the 
     Department of Defense's Manned Orbital Laboratory in 1967;
       Whereas Robert Lawrence was instrumental in compiling 
     flight maneuver data that was used in the development of the 
     Space Shuttle for the National Aeronautics and Space 
     Administration; and
       Whereas on December 8, 1967, Robert Lawrence died in a 
     crash of an F-104 Starfighter at Edwards Air Force Base, 
     leaving behind an inspiring career in the STEM field and 
     spaceflight awareness to encourage a generation of young 
     scientists and astronauts: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate honors the life of Dr. Robert 
     Lawrence Jr., an Air Force Major, test pilot, and the first 
     African-American astronaut selected for spaceflight.

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