[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16241]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



           IN RECOGNITION OF THE RETIREMENT OF WALLY WALDROP

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                          HON. DAVID E. BONIOR

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 2, 2001

  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor a remarkable 
individual who performs a remarkable service, and has for more than 22 
years. Just this past May, Capt. Milton R. Waldrop, better known as 
Capt. Wally Waldrop, retired from Lake Piloting.
  Born in Texas, Capt. Waldrop joined the Navy in 1948, serving aboard 
the aircraft carrier USS Tarawa, which served as embassy protection 
during the Chinese Revolution in 1948, He left the service in 1952 and 
moved to the Great Lakes, where he began a career as a Great Lakes 
Mariner. After 19 years as a mariner, he became a Lake Pilot in 1979.
  Now for those of you not familiar with Lake Piloting, it is a 
fascinating profession, Every cargo freighter that enters the Great 
Lakes, must, by law, be piloted by a licensed Great Lakes pilot. Even 
though these ships have their own very capable crews, they still have 
to have a Lake Pilot aboard during their voyage through our water 
system. Capt. Waldrop is not only one of these master pilots, he is the 
best of the best. One day he could be at the helm of a Greek vessel, 
the next day it's a Russian freighter.
  Great Lakes shipping is critical to the regional economy and has an 
impact on world markets and economies. Without the services of Wally 
Waldrop, and others like him, safe and efficient commerce through the 
Great Lakes would not be possible. Please join me in saluting Capt. 
Wally Waldrop, a great pilot and a servant to the entire Great Lakes 
region.




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