Remembering the Hon. C.W. Bill Young

Floor Speech

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Ms. GRANGER. I thank the gentleman from Florida for yielding me time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to and celebrate the life of an outstanding public servant, Bill Young. It is a true honor to have been able to know a man like Chairman Young and to be able to call him both a friend and a role model for all of us. There is no one who was more respected, decent, gracious, dedicated and humble. Everyone who crossed his path is richer for the experience. That is evident through the hundreds of people who attended his memorial service last week. His service was attended by over 30 Members of Congress. During a time of such partisanship, the respect for Chairman Young was illustrated through the attendance from both sides of the aisle, including leadership.

The respect the military has for his lifelong advocacy for our national security and for our servicemembers was evident through the attendance and heartfelt eulogies of former Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England and the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James Amos.

It was clear that the Department of Defense depended on him. Immediately before the service began, General Amos bestowed a very rare and appropriate honor by naming Chairman Young an honorary marine.

I will never forget when I was first appointed to the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. As one of the first women ever to serve on the subcommittee, I wasn't sure how I would be treated, but Bill immediately brought me in and treated me with respect and kindness, as he did to everyone. Gender didn't matter to him; he only cared about my commitment to the military and to our Nation.

When John Wooden wrote ``the true test of a man's character is what he does when no one is watching,'' he clearly was talking about Chairman Young. Over the years, we have all heard many, many stories about the personal interest and assistance that he and Beverly provided for our wounded soldiers, but we never heard these stories from him. He never talked about what he did. He was motivated by doing what was right for someone else's health and well-being.

When Marine Lance Corporal Josh Callihan spoke at the memorial service, it was the first time that most of us had ever heard about the extraordinary efforts the Chairman and Beverly took to help this wounded warrior.

Lance Corporal Callihan had been shot in the back and sustained significant damage to his spinal cord. With no family support system, he was in Bethesda injured both physically and emotionally. Then he met Bill and Beverly Young, and his life changed forever. They stepped in and became his family, helping him to recover. Today, Josh calls the Chairman and Beverly ``mom'' and ``dad.'' After many years of hard work, he is now married and expecting his first child. According to Josh, none of this would be possible without Bill Young.

As I was thinking about what I wanted to say about Chairman Young, I realized it was impossible to do justice to such an extraordinary man merely through words. He was truly one of a kind. The best way we can honor this man is to redouble our efforts to our national security and to the treatment of our servicemembers and their families. I ask that all of my colleagues join me to make sure that we carry on his legacy.

In closing, I want to let Beverly, their children, his friends and his staff, who were part of his family, know that you all remain in our thoughts and our prayers.

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