[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 20704]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   TRIBUTE TO LT. BRUCE JOSEPH DONALD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Kelly) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. KELLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a man from my 
district, Lieutenant Bruce Joseph Donald of Poughkeepsie, who was 
killed last Friday when his F-18 Hornet strike fighter crashed in the 
Persian Gulf.
  Lieutenant Donald, known by his call sign, ``Straydog,'' was a 1995 
graduate of the Naval Academy where he earned a Bachelor of Sciences 
degree in Ocean Engineering. Following graduation, Lieutenant Donald 
spent 6 months at his alma mater on temporary duty prior to being sent 
to Pensacola, Florida, to begin preflight indoctrination training. 
Afterwards, he traveled to Corpus Christi, Texas, for primary flight 
training, and then completed advanced jet training in Kingsville, 
Texas.
  According to his superior officers, Lieutenant Donald performed 
exceptionally during flight school and, in February of 1998, he earned 
his Wings of Gold and an assignment to F-18 replacement pilot training 
at VMFAT-101. Having successfully completed replacement training, 
``Straydog'' reported to VFA-25 in July 1999.
  As a member of the ``Fist of the Fleet,'' he excelled as a strike 
fighter pilot and served as the squadron's naval aviation training and 
operations procedures standardization officer, air-to-ground training 
officer, coffee mess officer, and landing signals officer. Lieutenant 
Donald was an exceptional pilot with sound judgment and was a 
designated combat section leader.
  Although we live in a time of relative peace, we must never forget 
that the men and women who serve this Nation are constantly putting 
their lives on the line. We owe a tremendous debt to these men and 
women and to their families who love and support them through their 
training and deployments so that we may continue to live in a world of 
hope and the promise of peace.
  Having dedicated much of his young life to the service of this 
Nation, it is only fitting that Lieutenant Donald can be commemorated 
here. Lieutenant Bruce Donald is survived by his parents, Patrick and 
Elaine Donald, his brother Brian, all of Poughkeepsie, New York. I 
offer the Donald family and their friends my deepest condolences.

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