[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 10647]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   TRIBUTE TO AMBASSADOR MALCOLM TOON

 Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, I rise today to pay 
special tribute to Ambassador Malcolm Toon, an outstanding American 
diplomat with a long and impressive record of service to our Nation. 
For Ambassador Toon this year's July Fourth celebration has particular 
meaning since it also marks his Eighty-fifth Birthday.
  In a diplomatic career that spanned more than three decades, he 
served as U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, 
Czechoslovakia, and Israel and held positions within the State 
Department as the Director of Soviet Affairs and the Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for European Affairs. These assignments provided Ambassador 
Toon with a degree of expertise and keen insight that would prove 
invaluable when, in March 1992, he was selected by President Bush to 
serve as the first U.S. chairman of a newly formed bilateral American-
Russian commission tasked with determining the fate of missing service 
personnel.
  Under his six-year stewardship, the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on 
POW/MIAs overcame many obstacles in pursuit of its humanitarian work on 
behalf of missing servicemen and their families. Thanks to his 
leadership and steadfastness, the fates of numerous military personnel 
have been clarified and a robust archival research program implemented. 
During his tenure the Joint Commission visited each of the fifteen 
independent states that comprised the former Soviet Union and urged 
heads of state and other senior officials to do all within their power 
to assist in the search for American servicemen still unaccounted for. 
Similar initiatives were directed at the countries of Central and 
Eastern Europe. I am personally aware of Ambassador Toon's deep sense 
of commitment to the POW/MIA issue since, as co-chairman of the Joint 
Commisson's Vietnam War Working Group, I had the privilege of serving 
with Ambassador Toon.
  Prior to embarking on his diplomatic career in 1946, Ambassador Toon 
served in the U.S. Navy during World War II as a PT-Boat skipper, 
achieving the rank of Lieutenant Commander and earning the Bronze Star 
for valor. His academic credentials include a BA degree from Tufts 
University and graduate studies at Middlebury College and Harvard 
University.
  I ask my colleagues to join with me today in recognizing a 
distinguished diplomat who has contributed greatly to our nation's 
commitment to the fullest possible accounting for our missing service 
personnel.

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