[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 68 (Thursday, May 26, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                        THE ``JEREMIAH O'BRIEN''

                                 ______


                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 26, 1994

  Mr. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, as America prepares to honor its war dead 
this Memorial Day, and as we prepare to honor those brave Americans who 
gave the ultimate sacrifice on D-day 50 years ago, let us also pay 
tribute to those who survived to ensure that their sacrifices have not 
been forgotten.
  This Monday last, the Jeremiah O'Brien, the last seaworthy Liberty 
ship of World War II, completed its 32 day, 7,894 mile voyage from its 
berth in San Francisco to Portsmouth, England. From Captain George 
Jahn, the 78-year-old World War II Liberty Ship captain; to 75-year-old 
chief engineer Richard Brannon; to Mary Steinburg, a former Navy 
secretary who worked in the sweltering engine room; to Carl Nolte, a 
San Francisco Chronicle reporter by trade; and, last but not least, 
retired Adm. Thomas Patterson, who rescued the O'Brien from mothballs 
in 1979 and led the efforts that restored its seaworthiness, the 
O'Brien's 55-strong all-volunteer crew turned a labor of love into a 
voyage of history.
  The Jeremiah O'Brien will be the only surviving ship of the 5,000 
vessel-strong D-day armada to participate in the 50th anniversary 
commemorative ceremonies. If anyone doubts that the American spirit of 
adventure has subsided, or that American partriotism is a thing of the 
past, let them speak to the men and women who restored and sailed the 
Jeremiah O'Brien.
  Mr. Speaker, let us offer the congratulations of the Congress to the 
sterling crew of the Jeremiah O`Brien and our thanks for their 
contributions to remembering our Nation's heroes on this Memorial Day 
weekend.

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