[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 143 (Monday, September 16, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E900-E901]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING THE LIFE OF THOMAS CARE REED

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JARED HUFFMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 16, 2024

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise with Congressman Mike Thompson to 
honor Thomas Care Reed, who passed away at the age of 89 on February 
11, 2024, and his extensive public service to the United States and 
local Sonoma County community. Mr. Reed served as the 11th Secretary of 
the United States Air Force and was a dedicated public servant to three 
former Presidents.

[[Page E901]]

  Mr. Reed was born in New York City, NY in 1934. His military career 
began as a member of Cornell's Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps 
program. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical 
engineering as Cadet Colonel, the highest-ranking officer in his class. 
Shortly thereafter, he was commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the Air 
Force. Mr. Reed served until 1959, ending his active-duty career as 
Technical Project Manager for the Minuteman Re-Entry Vehicle System 
with the Air Force's Ballistic Missile Division.
  While enlisted in the Air Force, Mr. Reed simultaneously attended the 
University of Southern California where he completed his Master's 
Degree in electrical engineering. He later moved to the Bay Area where 
he was stationed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a chief 
strategist working to develop new thermonuclear weapons systems. This 
work contributed to the end of the Cold War and launched his political 
career.
  As one of the key scientific minds behind the invention of 
thermonuclear devices being tested in the Pacific Ocean during the 
early 1960s, Mr. Reed earned the respect of his peers including 
Manhattan Project member Edward Teller. In 1973, he was appointed as 
Assistant to the Secretary of Defense. Just a few years later, under 
President Gerald Ford's administration, Mr. Reed was named Secretary of 
the Air Force, a post he held until the beginning of President Carter's 
term in 1977.
  Throughout his life, Mr. Reed held many passions including writing 
and winemaking. What started as a small hobby growing wine grapes in 
Sonoma County's Alexander Valley would eventually transform into the 
renowned Clos du Bois Winery, which by the late 1980s, would sell more 
than 200,000 cases of wine per year.
  Mr. Reed is survived by his wife, Kay, his daughter, Carolyn Reed 
Ellis, his sons, Gordon Reed and Andrew Reed, and six grandchildren. 
While his patriotism and military service were instrumental in 
deterring the Soviet Union from deploying nuclear devices during the 
Cold War, Mr. Reed will also be remembered as a loving husband, father, 
and grandfather.
  Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that Thomas Reed was a dedicated 
public servant who will be missed and whose many contributions to the 
Sonoma County region and Nation are worthy of commendation. Therefore, 
it is fitting and proper that we honor his many contributions and 
express our deep condolences to his family and friends.

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