[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 13750-13751]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 REMEMBERING ADMIRAL ERNEST JOSEPH KING

  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. President, I rise to speak today as citizens 
of Lorain County, OH soon gather to honor one of their favorite sons, 
ADM Ernest Joseph King, an American hero, who served as commander in 
chief of the U.S. Fleet, and Chief of Naval Operations during World War 
II.
  This Sunday, September 18, 2011, Admiral King's memory will be 
honored with a Lorain elementary school named in his honor. An open 
green space, in the shape of an anchor, will be dedicated directly 
across the street from the admiral's birthplace, a home at 113 Hamilton 
Avenue that still stands today. Both the elementary school and the 
green space will remind future generations of the admiral's 
contributions to our country and the personal traits that made him an 
American hero: tenacity, love of country, fearlessness.
  Ernest Joseph King was born in Lorain on November 23, 1878, to 
Elizabeth and James Clydesdale King. He was the older brother to two 
sisters and two brothers. Admiral King attended Lorain High School and 
graduated fourth in his class from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1901. 
Still enrolled at the Naval Academy, he served in the Spanish American 
War. In 1905, he married Martha Lankin Edgerton in Baltimore, with whom 
he raised six daughters and a son. King was known to return to Lorain 
throughout his life to visit his childhood friends.
  After his distinguished service in World War I, in 1927, he became a 
naval aviator, and only 6 years later, he was made chief of the Bureau 
of Aeronautics of the U.S. Navy, where he made patrol bombers an 
essential naval arm. He was appointed by President Franklin D. 
Roosevelt in World War II as chief of the U.S. Fleet and Chief of Naval 
Operations, taking the post only 2 weeks after the attack on Pearl 
Harbor. He earned his nickname, Eagle Eye Ernie, by possessing 
boundless energy, and being a strict disciplinarian.
  He retired from the Navy as a decorated officer, having been awarded 
10 medals and 14 Foreign Awards, including the Navy Distinguished 
Service

[[Page 13751]]

Medal and the National Defense Service Medal. Upon Admiral King's 
passing, on June 25, 1956, President Eisenhower remarked: ``Admiral 
King carried his heavy responsibility with courage, brilliance and 
continued devotion to duty.''
  This weekend, the city of Lorain, the Black River Historical Society, 
Charleston Village Society, Lorain City Schools, along with several 
members of Admiral King's family will join together to honor the legacy 
of an American hero. For school children who will attend Admiral King 
Elementary School, and for all Lorain residents who will pass by his 
home on Hamilton Avenue, let us remember the lessons of Admiral Ernest 
Joseph King, that patriotism and service forever anchors the greatness 
of our Nation.

                          ____________________