[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 19 (Monday, January 31, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S412-S413]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  REMEMBERING VICE ADMIRAL PAUL FOSTER

 Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize VADM 
Paul Frederick Foster, USN, of Wichita, KS, on the 50th anniversary of 
his passing. Foster was the first Naval Officer to receive the 
Congressional Medal of Honor. Moreover, he earned the Navy Cross, the 
Distinguished Service Award, and Navy Merit Commendation. VADM Paul 
Frederick Foster was a true American hero.
  Paul Foster was in Wichita, KS, in 1889. He was the son of a 
traveling minister and thus grew up in Kansas, Utah, Oklahoma, and 
finally Idaho. There, he would attend the University of Idaho for 1 
year before earning an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in 
Annapolis, MD, from Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho in 1907. In June 1911, 
Foster exited the Naval Academy as a passed midshipman with a bachelor 
of science. He was commissioned as ensign in July 1911. After 
graduation he would be attached to the USS Washington, but by December 
was quickly transferred to the USS Utah, a battleship in the Atlantic 
Fleet.
  In the beginning of 1914, the United States chose to intercede in the 
Mexican Revolution. While on its way to Mexico, the USS Utah was 
instructed to intercept a German ship carrying arms intended for the 
Mexican dictator Victoriano Huerta. The German ship arrived in Veracruz 
before the Utah, which resulted in the American occupation of the city. 
During the fighting on April 21 and 22, Foster led his company ashore. 
For distinguished conduct in battle, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
  Paul Frederick Foster would go on to serve as commanding officer of 
multiple submarines during World War I. During his service a 
submariner, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander and was 
decorated with the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for the sinking 
enemy submarine. At the outset of U.S involvement in World War II, 
Foster was called for Active Duty at the rank of commander. He was 
tasked with naval inspections. The highest rank he would achieve was 
vice admiral at the time of his second retirement from the Navy. After 
the war, Paul Frederick Foster was appointed to the Atomic Energy 
Commission in Vienna, Austria, by President Eisenhower.
  It is my honor to commemorate VADM Paul Frederick Foster for his

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heroic military service. Today, I send my best wishes to his son, Rear 
Admiral Paul L. Foster SC, USN-Ret.

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