Byron Dorgan: “I wanted to stop on the Senate floor today on a mission to compliment my distinguished colleague and friend, Senator…”

“I wanted to stop on the Senate floor today on a mission to compliment my distinguished colleague and friend, Senator Strom Thurmond. He has achieved quite a remarkable record here in the U.S. Senate. I didn't know Senator Thurmond very well except by reputation before I came to the U.S. Senate. But, as I have come to know him and his service to our country, I wanted this morning to join all of my colleagues who will come this morning and tell him thank you for his service to our country. Senator Thurmond is serving in the U.S. Senate in 1997. He was born in the year 1902. That means that Senator Thurmond has spent a great deal of time in public service. He is a remarkable person by any measure. When I read a piece about Senator Strom Thurmond about 4 years ago, I went up to him on the floor of Senate, after I read the piece, and told him that I learned a great deal about him I did not know. One of the things that impressed me so much was to have read about his record in the Second World War. Senator Thurmond volunteered for service in the Second World War, I believe, when he was near 40 years of age. And when I read about what he did in the Second World War, I was really truly astounded. He received five battle stars and 18 decorations: the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star for valor, the Purple Heart, the Cross of Order of Crown Belgium, and so on.…”