[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6694-6695]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO MERLE J. SMITH, JR.

  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Madam President, today I wish to pay tribute to 
Commander Merle J. Smith, Jr., of Mystic, CT, who was honored on April 
1, 2012, during the Coast Guard's annual Eclipse Week, as the first 
African-American graduate of the Coast Guard Academy in 1966.
  Founded in 1876 in New London, CT, the Coast Guard Academy has made 
fundamental progress since its first African-American cadet. Over the 
past decades, it has diversified its student body, provided support to 
underrepresented students, and raised awareness about the Coast Guard, 
its Academy, and military training more generally among a wide range of 
communities. Commander Smith was honored this year with the inaugural 
Merle J. Smith Pioneer Award as one of the first to realize the ideal 
of minority participation and for his contributions

[[Page 6695]]

to our Nation since paving the way for future cadets on that infamous 
graduation day.
  After leaving the Academy, Commander Smith served in Vietnam in 1969, 
commanding a patrol boat on more than 80 missions and becoming the 
first African-American member of the maritime service to earn a Bronze 
Star. While in the Coast Guard, he received a law degree from George 
Washington University, and after his military tenure, dedicated many 
years as an attorney for Groton-based Electric Boat. Commander Smith 
also taught at the Academy as a part-time law teacher and then later as 
an adjunct professor. He is a shining example of the wide range of 
possibilities offered to Academy graduates--whether they choose to 
pursue a career in the military, in a civilian profession, such as the 
law, or both--and is a stellar role model for cadets past and present.
  The Coast Guard and Coast Guard Academy began adopting equal 
opportunity policies in earnest when President Kennedy ordered the 
diversification of the forces defending our coasts. Now, each year, the 
Coast Guard hosts Eclipse Week, a week-long effort to put its diversity 
efforts in the spotlight. Discussions on openness and inclusivity are 
facilitated. Minority alumni are welcomed on campus to form 
relationships with current and incoming Academy students as well as 
interested high school students.
  In addition to Commander Smith, the Coast Guard honored three other 
valuable members of their community--partners in the pursuit of equal 
representation--during this year's Eclipse Week. Frances Neal was 
awarded this year's Humanitarian Award for her legacy of lovingly 
serving food to cadets for 25 years. One of the Academy's most beloved 
equal opportunity officers, JoAnn P. Miller, or ``Mama Miller,'' as she 
was affectionately called by cadets, was also celebrated. And, Vice 
Admiral Manson K. Brown, a student of Commander Smith's, was given this 
year's Genesis Award for his service as a Pacific Area commander and 
his work founding the Genesis Club while attending the Academy--an 
organization still in existence that supports underrepresented cadets.
  The Coast Guard promotes diversity not only though Eclipse Week, but 
also by running community-based initiatives such as the U.S. Coast 
Guard Office of Diversity and its various programs, including Diversity 
Champion of the Week, Affinity Groups, and Strategic Education 
Partnerships. It also has an active Office of Inclusion and Diversity, 
headed by Chief Diversity Officer, Antonio Farias, that facilitates 
partnerships between high school and college students, as well as 
cadets, so that citizens of all backgrounds can see what it means to 
work towards a career in the Coast Guard and in the U.S. military. And, 
in 2011, Rear Admiral Sandra Stosz became the first female Service 
Academy superintendent in our Nation's history. She was recently named 
as one of Newsweek's ``150 Women Who Shake the World.'' More than 30 
years ago, Eclipse Week's goal was racial inclusivity. Today, this 
yearly event aims to promote diversity more comprehensively.
  Displayed in the historical archive of the Coast Guard's Web site, is 
a photograph of Commander Smith on the day of his graduation, proudly 
shaking the hand of his father, Colonel Merle J. Smith, Sr., and 
smiling at the camera. This image speaks of generational advancement, 
community, and hope. However, the weathered sepia of the photograph of 
father and son also reminds us that we cannot become complacent, stuck 
in stories of progress from previous decades. We must always be ready, 
``Semper Paratus,'' for progress. The theme of this year's Eclipse 
Week--``openness, inclusion, change''--is apt and inspiring for the 
work ahead.

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