[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 18592]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO BONNIE CARROLL

  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is our 
Nation's highest civilian honor, presented to men and women who have 
made ``an especially meritorious contribution to the security or 
national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other 
significant endeavors.''
  It is the highest honor a civilian of the United States can achieve. 
In all, the recipients have included seven Presidents, nine Supreme 
Court Justices, countless Members of Congress, First Ladies, military 
leaders, lawyers, artists, athletes, civil rights leaders, and doctors. 
It is the list of the best of America. It is a diverse list. The 
recipients come from all backgrounds and all walks of life. They all 
have one thing in common. They have dedicated their lives to achieving 
excellence in serving causes greater than themselves.
  On November 24, next week, Bonnie Carroll, a proud Alaskan, will join 
this honor roll when she is presented with the Presidential Medal of 
Freedom at a White House ceremony. It is certainly an exciting time for 
all of us in Alaska. We are so proud of Bonnie, who just happens to be 
here tonight in the Gallery.
  Let me tell you a little bit about Bonnie Carroll, a woman of 
determination, perseverance, honor, and strength. You can't talk about 
Bonnie without talking first about how she met her husband Tom, which 
in many ways--in tragic ways I will get to--led to the great work she 
has done for a grateful nation.
  In 1988, Bonnie was working at the White House when news broke that 
three whales were trapped in the ice off the coast of Alaska. Now I 
know this doesn't happen in the Presiding Officer's State that often, 
but in Alaska we have certain challenges that other States don't. She 
picked up the phone to see what could be done, and on the other line 
was her future husband, Alaska Army National Guard COL Tom Carroll, who 
worked with many others to help rescue the whales. This was part of the 
love story between Bonnie and Tom and part of a story so unique that 
what happened up in Alaska actually caught the attention of Hollywood. 
You can see their love story portrayed in the film ``The Great 
Miracle.''
  For the Carrolls, the story didn't end with the saving of the whales. 
Unfortunately, their story is in many ways happy but also did not have 
a so-called Hollywood ending--unfortunately, far from it. After they 
were married in 1992, COL Tom Carroll of the Alaska National Guard died 
in an Army C-12 plane crash in the mountains of Alaska. Seven other top 
Alaska National Guard members were tragically lost that day. It was a 
horrible tragedy for America, for Alaska, for the Carroll family, and 
for all the other families who suffered tragic loss that day in Alaska.
  After the crash Bonnie realized there were no organizations 
established in this country to help people like her who had lost loved 
ones--military members and family members who had lost military members 
in tragedies such as the day of that crash. What she did after that was 
amazing. What she did was heroic. She took her deep grief and put it to 
use for the rest of us.
  Just 2 years after her husband's tragic death, Bonnie founded the 
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, also known as TAPS. The idea 
for TAPS came in part as a result of her consultations with former 
Senator Ted Stevens, another great Alaskan and great American, who 
would also tragically die in a plane crash in Alaska. This is why 
Bonnie is being honored by the President next week. Since 1994, her 
organization, TAPS, has offered support to 50,000 surviving families of 
our military members whom we have lost. Fifty thousand surviving family 
members and caregivers have benefitted from the services of TAPS, which 
Bonnie founded. Think of the grief and think of what she has done 
across America to soothe grieving families.
  TAPS provides a variety of grief and trauma resources, including 
seminars for adults and a summer camp for children in Alaska to help 
families heal and to help them work through their grief. I heard many 
of these stories, and you can't help but be touched and moved by the 
power of what TAPS does to help Americans, family members of our 
military, work through some of the most difficult times. For years 
those of us in the military and those of us in Alaska have known how 
Bonnie's work and the work of TAPS has been healing families throughout 
this country, for those we have lost--our heroes who have been 
defending this country. We have known in the military, we have known in 
Alaska, and as of Tuesday the world will know when Bonnie is presented 
with this incredible honor at the White House.
  As she puts it: ``Out of an Alaskan tragedy came hope and healing for 
tens of thousands of our military families.''
  For the work that she does with the families of our heroes who have 
made the ultimate sacrifice for all of us, Bonnie Carroll is utmost 
deserving of this great honor. She is a great Alaskan, a Great 
American, and she has made us all very proud.
  Congratulations, Bonnie.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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