[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 24 (Thursday, February 7, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1142-S1143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      SENATE RESOLUTION 61--HONORING THE LIFE OF ROSEMARY MARINER

  Mrs. BLACKBURN (for herself and Mr. Alexander) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary:

                               S. Res. 61

       Whereas, on April 2, 1953, Rosemary Ann Bryant was born to 
     Captain Cecil Bryant and Constance Boylan Bryant in 
     Harlingen, Texas;
       Whereas, as a teenager, Rosemary washed planes at a local 
     airport to earn money for flying lessons;
       Whereas Rosemary was the first woman to enroll in the 
     aeronautics program at Purdue University;
       Whereas, following graduation from Purdue University, 
     Rosemary Bryant Mariner joined the United States Navy;
       Whereas, on graduation from officer candidate school, 
     Rosemary Mariner was chosen for the first female flight 
     training class in the history of the Navy;
       Whereas, in 1974, Captain Mariner was among 6 of the 
     graduates of the first female flight training class to earn 
     wings, and, the next year, Captain Mariner became the first 
     female aviator in the Navy to fly a jet attack aircraft;
       Whereas, during her Navy career, Captain Mariner logged 17 
     landings on aircraft carriers and more than 3,500 flight 
     hours in 15 different aircraft;
       Whereas, in 1990, Captain Mariner was named commander of a 
     Navy tactical electronic warfare squadron at Naval Air 
     Station Point Mugu, a unit that was 30% female, making 
     Captain Mariner the first woman to command an operational air 
     squadron, even though women were still barred from flying 
     combat missions;
       Whereas Captain Mariner later said that, during her time as 
     commander and in other Navy positions, she learned: ``If 
     [women] cannot share the equal risks and hazards in arduous 
     duty, then you are not equal'';
       Whereas Captain Mariner fought tirelessly for the equality 
     of women in the military--
       (1) by leading the Women Military Aviators organization; 
     and
       (2) by working with members of Congress and a Defense 
     Department advisory board to overturn laws and regulations 
     barring women from combat;
       Whereas Captain Mariner stated, ``if we thought something 
     was unfair--they wouldn't let a woman land on a ship, for 
     example--we would write a letter up the chain of command and 
     put it on the record that we wanted that changed'';

[[Page S1143]]

       Whereas, in April 1993, Defense Secretary Les Aspin lifted 
     the restrictions on female pilots flying combat missions;
       Whereas, on retirement from Navy service in 1997, Captain 
     Mariner moved to Norris, Tennessee, with--
       (1) her husband, Commander Tommy Mariner; and
       (2) their daughter, Emmalee;
       Whereas, for more than 20 years, Captain Mariner was a 
     resident scholar of military history at the Center for the 
     Study of War and Society at the University of Tennessee in 
     Knoxville, Tennessee;
       Whereas, as a resident scholar at the Center for the Study 
     of War and Society, Captain Mariner shaped the minds and 
     outlooks of countless undergraduate students, in whom her 
     legacy will live for generations to come;
       Whereas Rosemary Mariner passed away on January 24, 2019, 
     in Knoxville, Tennessee, at the age of 65;
       Whereas Rosemary Mariner was honored as ``one of the 
     nation's leading advocates for equal opportunity in the 
     military'' by Deborah G. Douglas in ``American Women and 
     Flight since 1940'';
       Whereas, in tribute to Captain Mariner, the United States 
     Navy conducted its first all-female flyover at the funeral 
     service for Captain Mariner on Saturday, February 2, 2019, in 
     Maynardville, Tennessee; and
       Whereas Rosemary Mariner is an American hero who 
     exemplified strength, sacrifice, and service to the United 
     States: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) extends its heartfelt sympathies to the family of 
     Rosemary Mariner;
       (2) honors the life of Captain Mariner;
       (3) honors and, on behalf of the United States, expresses 
     deep appreciation for the outstanding and important service 
     of Captain Mariner to the United States; and
       (4) respectfully requests that the Secretary of the Senate 
     communicate this resolution to the House of Representatives 
     and transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the 
     family of Rosemary Mariner.

                          ____________________