[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 154 (Tuesday, September 24, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1197]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           IN RECOGNITION OF ALBERT N. BULLOCK, POSTHUMOUSLY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 24, 2019

  Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Albert N. Bullock ``Al'' 
who passed away at the age of 96 on August 16, 2019 in Daly City after 
a remarkable life. Al was an unflappable photographer who filmed the 
attack on Pearl Harbor and covered many events that shaped the Bay 
Area, including the Patti Hearst kidnapping, the assassinations of 
Mayor Moscone and Harvey Milk and the Jonestown mass murder where I met 
him. He will always have a special place in my heart.
  Al was born in Utica, New York on March 5, 1923. He joined the U.S. 
Navy at age 17 which changed his life. His first job was washing 
airplanes and working in a photo lab where he discovered his talent and 
love for taking pictures. When a place in the Navy photography school 
opened, he was picked and received what he called the best education 
possible in photography, motion pictures and navigation. He graduated 
as a second class photographer's mate and was immediately hired by the 
government. He was shipped to Pearl Harbor and as fate would have it, 
the year was 1941. On December 7th, Al was on Ford Island and as the 
Japanese were dropping bombs right on top of him, he filmed the carnage 
with a hand-cranked 16mm camera. Ford Island was the strategic center 
of operations for the U.S. Navy in the Pacific, the location of 
Battleship Row. Assigned as a flag cameraman on the USS Santa Fe, he 
spent the entire war moving from one campaign to the next. In March 
1945, he shot historic photos and footage of the burning and listing 
USS Franklin 50 miles off the coast of Japan. The USS Santa Fe rescued 
many sailors and helped put out the fires on the Franklin. Al was 22.
  In 1950, Al moved to San Mateo in my Congressional District and held 
a variety of jobs selling China and silverware, taking photos and 
filming car races. One day in the 60s, he was filming a race that ended 
in a fiery crash. Roger Grimsby, an anchor and the news director at 
KGO-TV, watched him as he kept filming. He approached Al asking, ``You 
have any blood in your veins?'' He bought the footage for $25 and used 
it on the air that day. Thus began Al's pursuit to become a cameraman 
for KGO. In 1962, Grimsby, known as ``Grim Grimsby'' for his gruff no-
nonsense delivery of the news, finally relented and hired him. Al 
stayed at KGO for 30 years covering the John F. Kennedy assassination, 
the Vietnam War, the birth of the free speech movement, the kidnapping 
of newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst, and the Loma Prieta earthquake.
  He also covered a story that shaped my life and cemented my 
commitment to public service. Al flew to Guyana with my mentor and boss 
Congressman Ryan who took a delegation there to investigate the commune 
Jim Jones had built in Jonestown. Relatives and friends of Jones' 
followers suspected that he was holding them against their will. They 
were right and some 40 followers were ready to defect with our 
delegation. What unfolded was one of the deadliest mass murders in 
history. Congressman Ryan was assassinated on the airstrip in Port 
Kaituma, shot 45 times. Three journalists and one defector were shot 
dead. I was shot five times, left for dead but survived. In the 
commune, more than 900 followers were murdered with cyanide-laced Kool-
Aid. Al was on a plane back to the Bay Area. Upon hearing the news he 
immediately returned to Guyana to cover the aftermath. Just nine days 
later, back in San Francisco, Al was sent to cover the assassinations 
of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. He witnessed and 
captured one of the most tumultuous and trying periods in Bay Area 
history.
  Al's superb work was recognized with many awards including the 
California Press Photographer of the Year and the prestigious Silver 
Circle of the National Academy of TV Arts and Sciences in 2003.
  Al Bullock is preceded in death by his ex-wife Edythe and survived by 
their three children, Candace, Bob and Georgette, their six 
grandchildren, Stephanie, Lindsey, Sean, Erin, Matthew, and four great-
grandchildren, Kelly, Katie, Tyler and Adam.
  Madam Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to rise with me to 
honor Albert N. Bullock who served our country and led by example. He 
was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, a 
mentor to many, Mr. KGO to his colleagues, and one of a kind. He will 
be deeply missed.

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