[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 199 (Monday, December 4, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5704]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    Tribute to J. William Middendorf

  Mr. REED. Madam President, next week, the Naval War College in 
Newport, RI, will host the unveiling of the keel plate for the Arleigh 
Burke-class guided-missile destroyer DDG-138, which will be named for 
an extraordinary American and an extraordinary Rhode Islander: 
Ambassador J. William Middendorf.
  I won't be able to honor Ambassador Middendorf in person. So I would 
like to take this opportunity, along with my colleague Senator 
Whitehouse, to say a few words of appreciation for his contributions 
and public service.
  Ambassador Middendorf, who now resides in the town of Little Compton, 
RI, was born 99 years ago, on September 24, 1924, in Baltimore, MD. He 
remains a person of tremendous intellect, interests, and achievement. 
To this day, he continues to share his strong and always interesting 
opinions as a frequent contributor for the Providence Journal.
  I don't always agree with him, but his column always makes for a 
lively read, and he has been preparing an upcoming book on the way 
called ``On My Watch: Tyrants and Patriots.''
  I would like to highlight some of Ambassador Middendorf's extensive 
record of achievement and patriotic accomplishments.
  In the 1940s, while our Nation was at war, he served in the Navy as 
an engineering officer and navigator aboard the landing craft support 
ship USS LCS-53 and earned his bachelor of naval science from the 
College of the Holy Cross under the Navy's V-12 Program. After he was 
discharged from the Navy, he earned a bachelor of arts degree from 
Harvard University in 1947 and then an M.B.A. from the Stern School of 
Business at New York University in 1954.
  Ambassador Middendorf became an investment banker and cofounded 
Middendorf, Colgate and Company, which became a prominent Wall Street 
firm, and he took on important roles in the national Republican Party.
  In 1969, he left his investment firm and was appointed as U.S. 
Ambassador to the Netherlands and continued in that position until 
1973. He then served as Under Secretary of the Navy with an appointment 
from President Nixon.
  On April 8, 1974, Ambassador Middendorf became the 62nd Secretary of 
the Navy, serving through the Ford administration. During his tenure as 
Secretary of the Navy, he championed and oversaw the development of 
four major Navy programs: the Ohio-class submarine program and the 
accompanying Trident missiles, the Aegis surface-launched missile 
system, the CH-53E heavy-lift helicopter for the Marine Corps, and the 
F/A-18 Hornet carrier-based attack aircraft.
  Ambassador Middendorf is also credited with creating the famed Marine 
Corps Marathon. As Secretary of the Navy, he encouraged and approved 
the first Marine Reserve Marathon and provided replicas of the Iwo Jima 
statue to be used as trophies for the male and female marathon winners.
  After his tenure as Secretary of the Navy, he returned to the private 
sector as president and chief executive officer of Financial General 
Bankshares, which he reorganized and renamed as First American Bank.
  In 1980, Ambassador Middendorf led the CIA transition team for 
President Reagan's incoming administration. He was later named the U.S. 
Ambassador to the Organization of American States, a post he served in 
until 1984, when he accepted the appointment as U.S. Representative to 
the European Community, which is now known as the European Union. He 
served in that role until 1987.
  On June 10, 2022, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced 
that the future Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer DDG-138, 
now under construction at Bath Iron Works shipyard in Maine, will be 
named the USS J. William Middendorf. The name selection follows the 
tradition of naming destroyers after U.S. naval leaders and heroes.
  I congratulate Ambassador Middendorf on his well-deserved honor and 
express my gratitude to the shipbuilders and sailors who are bringing 
this new Arleigh Burke destroyer into the service of our Nation.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Madam President, I am delighted to have the chance to 
follow my senior Senator to add a few words about Bill Middendorf and 
celebrate the fact that the newest Arleigh Burke-class missile 
destroyer of the U.S. Navy will be named the USS J. William Middendorf.
  Bill was Secretary of the Navy and U.S. Ambassador--a very 
distinguished career. If you go back to the time that he was Secretary 
of the Navy, the sequence was Paul Ignatius, who went on to become 
President of the Washington Post and an Assistant and Under Secretary 
of the Army; followed by John Chafee of Rhode Island, who went on to 
serve with great distinction in the U.S. Senate; followed by, if I 
recall correctly, John Warner, who became a very distinguished Senator 
representing Virginia; and then in that line came Ambassador 
Middendorf. So, clearly, the name selection follows an impressive 
tradition of service by some impressive Navy Secretaries.
  Ambassador Middendorf was born in Baltimore, actually, and served in 
World War II as a naval engineer officer and navigator, and, after a 
successful business career, he was appointed U.S. Ambassador to the 
Netherlands in 1969 and then served as Under Secretary of the Navy.
  In 1974, Ambassador Middendorf was appointed by President Nixon to 
serve as the 62nd Secretary of the Navy, and, in that capacity, he did 
something very important for Rhode Island, which was to champion the 
Navy's submarine program, including overseeing the creation of General 
Dynamics Electric Boat's Quonset Point location, a facility which 
Senator Reed has done so much to make a powerful economic engine in 
Rhode Island and a powerful shipbuilding facility to make sure that 
America's power overseas is at its apex.
  This Quonset Point facility is a very important legacy, and I am 
delighted to join my senior Senator in wishing Ambassador Middendorf--
Secretary Middendorf--congratulations on the keel laying and, very 
soon, a happy 100th birthday.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Texas.