[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 13] [Senate] [Pages 18123-18124] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov][[Page 18123]] TRIBUTE TO DR. MILO FRITZ Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, Alaska lost one of its true pioneers when Dr. Milo Fritz died at his home in Anchor Point at the age of 91. One of America's pre-eminent eye, ear, nose, and throat surgeons, Milo treated patients throughout Alaska. Dr. Fritz came to Alaska 60 years ago. With his wife Betsy, a nurse by his side, he began a practice that took him into almost every remote community of our State--to areas where there were no doctors, no clinics, no health care facilities of any kind. The area he served covered almost a quarter of our State's 586,000 square miles, from Anchorage northeast to the Canadian border near Fort Yukon, west to Bettles and Huslia, south to Anvik and Shageluk, and east again over the Chugach Mountains to Anchorage. Dozens of villages in that vast expanse would never have seen a doctor if Milo Fritz had not traveled by dog sled or small boat, or piloted his own single-engine airplane, because in that region there were no health-care facilities. A command surgeon for the 11th Air force in World War II, Milo spent much of his service time in Alaska. After the war, and a brief sojourn in New York, he and Betsy returned to Alaska at the request of our then-territory's commissioner of health to investigate problems of blindness and deafness among children in Alaska Native communities. Sterilizing his surgical instruments in boiling water heated on a portable stove he carried with him, Dr. Fritz performed tonsillectomies and sometimes, in the absence of a dentist, even had to extract infected teeth. He specialized in treating otitis-media, a terrible and common disease among Alaskan rural children. He wrote this brief account of one of his typical visits, this one in the village of Allakaket, which rests on the Arctic Circle in the foothills of the Brooks Range: In Allakaket, we operated in a log community hall and slept in the schoolteacher's quarters. In this village we did 22 T and A's (combined removal of tonsils and adenoids), five tonsillectomies, extracted a few teeth, and prescribed two pairs of glasses. We took one night off and in my airplane went into the wilderness into a heavenly spot called Selby Lake, where we fished for grayling and lake trout amid majestic surroundings that were as simple and beautiful and unspoiled as they must have been on the seventh day (a reference to the biblical account of creation). After our territory of Alaska became the 49th State, Dr. Fritz took advantage of an opportunity to bring the health problems he encountered to the attention of State government, and ran successfully for the Alaska State legislature. in the 1960s and early in the 1970s he represented Anchorage in our State house. In 1982 he represented the Kenai Peninsula. I had the privilege to serve with him from 1966 to 1968. Just as he was a perfectionist in the practice of medicine, Dr. Fritz was a stickler for fair and thorough legislative practices. I remember Milo came to the Alaska House of Representatives at 5:30 a.m.--so he could read and analyze each bill before the regular session started. Milo had a commitment to the processes of democracy that few people share or understand. At the time of his death, a family member said: He was a skilled practitioner of the healing arts; a patron of the arts; humanitarian; solon; diligent inquirer into the mysteries of jurisprudence and its philosophy; a student of the legislative process; stern foe or hypocrisy and deceit; physician in the true tradition of Hippocrates and Saint Luke; and friend. Milo would want people to know that he tried. Mr. President, Milo Fritz's contributions to Alaska and Alaskans over almost three generations are far more than those of a man who just ``tried.'' He left a legacy of caring and hard work and love of people and of his profession that will be hard to match. He gave his all, over and over again, whether in a distant village or in his office in Anchorage, and Juneau and Anchor Point. I was not only fortunate to serve with him in our legislature, I was also one of his patients. so I know first had of the excellence with which he accomplished whatever task was before him. Flags in Alaska flew at half staff last week to honor the memory of Dr. Milo Fritz, a great Alaska physician, legislator, and pioneer. A great man. To Betsy, his wife of 63 years, and his son Jonathan, we extend our deepest sympathy. I, too, Mr. President, have lost a friend. Mr. President, I ask that the articles about Dr. Fritz's life and death which appeared in the Kenai Peninsula Clarion, and the Anchorage Daily News on September 8th and 9th respectively, and editor Bill Tobin's tribute in the ``voice of the times'' column on September 10th, be printed in the Record. The material follows: [From the Anchorage Daily News, Sept. 8, 2000] Doctor, 91, a Pioneer fritz worked with deaf, blind in alaska's bush (By Jon Little) SOLDOTNA.--Milo Fritz, a former state legislator and pioneering physician who dedicated much of his life to healing deaf and blind children in the Alaska Bush, died Aug. 31 at his home in Anchor Point. He was 91. Gracious, direct and with a razor wit, Fritz was an institution on the Southern Kenai Peninsula. He was an eye, ear and throat specialist who treated thousands of Alaskans over the years, among them Sen. Ted Stevens, friends and family say. He briefly set up practices on Park Avenue in New York, said Elizabeth Fritz, has wife of 63 years. But Fritz's career path took a more meaning route, following his heart to villages across Alaska. ``So many of the Native children were going blind and deaf for lack of medical care,'' she said. Gov. Tony Knowles ordered state flags lowered through the end of the workday today in Fritz's memory. The governor's office recounted Fritz's career in detail: He was born in Pittsfield, Mass., on Aug. 5, 1909, and came to Alaska in 1940 to set up a practice in Ketchikan. He was soon drawn away by World War II, serving in the Army Air Corps beginning in 1941. When asked where he wanted to serve, Fritz replied Alaska and was sent back to the state where he'd already set up a practice. He went across the state, helping soldiers. He rose to the rank of command surgeon for the 11th Air force. According to the governor's office, Fritz won commendations for rescuing a pilot from a plane crash on Mount Redoubt and another pilot from a burning plane at Elmendorf Air Base. After the war; Fritz went to New York, but in 1947 he was called back by the then Alaska commissioner of health to investigate blindness among Alaska Native children. Fritz was elected to the Legislature in 1966 and again in 1972 to represent Anchorage in the state House. After moving to Anchor Point, he was elected to a third term in 1982. Janet Helen Gamble, has long-time receptionist, described Fritz as a missionary. ``Sometimes he got paid, sometimes he didn't, because he really was not interested in money. He was interested in people's health, how he could make people see better.'' Fritz and his wife retired to the house they bought in 1949, where the scenery hasn't changed much over the decades. ``We see nothing man-made from our windows in the summer unless a ship goes by,'' Elizabeth Fritz said. ``It was the perfect place to end our lives and do things we'd put aside all these years.'' He is remembered by his family as, ``a skilled practitioner of the healing arts'' as well as a humanitarian and a ``diligent inquirer into the mysteries of jurisprudence and its philosophy'' and a ``stern foe of hypocrisy and deceit.'' In addition to his wife of 63 years, Fritz is survived by his son Jonathan, also of Anchor Point. No memorial service is planned, in accordance with his wishes. ____ [From the Voice of the Times, Anchorage, AK, Sept. 10, 2000] Passing Parade (By Bill Tobin) The death of Dr. Milo Fritz at his Anchor Point home a week ago Thursday took from the Alaska scene a pioneer eye doctor and bush pilot who was part of another era--a time in Alaska when the Legislature was populated by people who had lives outside of politics. Service in Juneau, back in those days, was a part-time affair. Fishermen served and went back to their boats. Physicians served, and went back to practices. Druggists served, and went back to their stores. Real estate agents served and went back to the job of selling houses. Dr. Fritz, a long-time Anchorage eye surgeon who was 91 at the time of his death, was a Republican member of both the House and the Senate during his years in politics. He won international fame for the many years of service he provided as a medical circuit rider on countless trips to remote villages throughout rural Alaska. He learned to fly on the [[Page 18124]] G.I. Bill, after service as a major in World War II, and piloted his own plane on his medical missionary work. ____ [From the Kenai Peninsula Clarion, Sept. 8, 2000] Milo H. Fritz, M.D. Dr. Milo H. Fritz died at his home in Anchor Point on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2000, after a brief illness. He was 91. No memorial service is planned in accordance with his wishes. Born in Pittsfield, Mass., on Aug. 25, 1909, Fritz studied medicine and became a specialist in eyes, ears, nose and throat medicine. He came to Alaska in 1940 to set up a practice in Ketchikan, but was soon drawn away by the war. He served in the Army Air Corps beginning in 1941 and rose to the rank of command surgeon for the 11th Air Force. He spent many of his war years in Alaska, including service in Anchorage and Adak, and received commendations for rescuing a pilot from a plane crash on Mount Redoubt and another pilot from a burning plane at Elmendorf Air Base. After the war, Fritz set up a practice in New York, but in 1947 he was called back by the then-Alaska Commissioner of Health to investigate blindness among Alaska Native children. Fritz again made Alaska his home, and his desire to address health problems in Alaska eventually drew him to the Alaska Legislature. Fritz was elected in 1966 and again in 1972 to represent Anchorage in the state House, and, after moving to Anchor Point, he was elected to a third term in 1982, representing the Kenai Peninsula. ``(He was) a skilled practitioner of the healing arts; patron of the arts; humanitarian; solon; diligent inquirer into the mysteries of jurisprudence and its philosophy; a student of the legislative process; stern foe of hypocrisy and deceit; physician in the true tradition of Hippocrates and St. Luke; and friend,'' his family said. ``Milo would want people to know that he tried.'' He was preceded in death by his son, Pieter, in 1977. Fritz is survived by his wife of 63 years, Elizabeth, and son, Jonathan, both of Anchor Point. In recognition of his services to the people of Alaska, Gov. Tony Knowles has ordered state flags lowered through the end of the workday today in memory of the former legislator and pioneer. ____________________