Zach Nunn: “I suspect that all Senators, when we first come to this great institution we call the U.S. Senate, look around this…”

“I suspect that all Senators, when we first come to this great institution we call the U.S. Senate, look around this Chamber for role models and mentors to help us become effective and productive Senators. I was privileged, after graduating law school at Emory University 1962, to come to Washington and work for Congressman Paul Vinson for nearly a year. I was privileged to follow in the footsteps of Senator Richard Russell. These were certainly two great Georgians who set an example of public service that I have sought to emulate. I was honored to have served with many Senators I have learned from, including Senator John Stennis and Senator Scoop Jackson, two legendary Senators who served in the Richard Russell tradition. I have also learned very much from a unique Senator, the Senator from West Virginia by the name of Robert Byrd. Before I leave the Senate which I love, I want to take a few moments to thank my colleague and my good friend, Senator Robert Byrd, for the encouragement and assistance he has given me during my entire career here in the Senate and for the example he has set for all of us who served here and who have observed his leadership and his personality. It has been said that great men are like eagles. They do not flock together. You find them one at a time, soaring alone, using their skill and their strengths to reach new heights and to seek new horizons. Such a man and such an eagle is Robert Byrd.”