S10482 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 2, 2008 

Agency’s participation in a successful 

national joint mission to destroy an 

out-of-control U.S. satellite laden with 

toxic hydrazine fuel. 

General Obering has consistently exemplified a true dedication to our Nation and its ideals. His vision and drive 

enabled the Missile Defense Agency to 

field a truly worldwide ballistic missile 

defense capability that will be a part of 

this Nation’s defensive infrastructure 

for decades to come. Our Nation owes a 

debt of gratitude to General Obering 

for his outstanding leadership and service. I am proud to express my appreciation for his service.

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∑ 

TRIBUTE TO JAMES HERMAN 

FAULKNER, SR. 

∑ Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, today 

I pay tribute to James Herman 

‘‘Jimmy’’ Faulkner, Sr., a friend, who 

passed away last month. ‘‘Mr. jimmy’’ 

to the scores who knew and admired 

him, was a great Alabamian who, during his life, served as a mayor, State 

senator, candidate for governor, newspaper publisher, businessman, and philanthropist. 

Born in Lamar County, AL, the son 

of a schoolteacher and a farmer, he lost 

his father at the age of 12. He attended 

college in Tennessee and the School of 

Journalism at the University of Missouri. At age 20, he purchased The 

Baldwin Times newspaper and moved 

to Baldwin County, AL, where he lived 

his life and became one of, if not the 

most, well known of its citizens. 

Mr. Jimmy served as the Mayor of 

Bay Minette, AL, from 1941 to 1943, 

when he was called to serve in World 

War II as a first lieutenant, pilot, and 

flight instructor. Following that service, he represented Baldwin County in 

the Alabama State Senate, where he 

became an advocate for education and 

the State’s teachers. 

He served as Chairman of the Board 

of Directors for Alabama Christian College in Montgomery, and as a testament to his success in putting that institution in a position of financial stability and his personal generosity, it 

was renamed Faulkner University in 

his honor in 1985. Remarkably, because 

he was instrumental in bringing Faulkner State University, a community college, to Baldwin County, that State 

university is also named for him. Few 

persons, if any, have had both a private 

and State university named in their 

honor. 

Mr. Jimmy believed in Baldwin 

County. He brought business to the 

county. A friend of his, Scott Hunter, 

told me that Jimmy told him in 1990 to 

buy all the real estate he could in Baldwin County because it would double in 

population by 2010. And it has. Jimmy 

was able to predict economic, demographic, and political changes with uncanny accuracy. He lived to know 14 

Alabama governors and he wrote, ‘‘We 

have had some good ones and some not 

so good. Because of my longevity, it 

has been my privilege, and usually my 

pleasure, to have known personally, 

and been on friendly terms, with every 

governor back to Bibb Graves.’’ 

During his lifetime, he served as 

president and founder of two insurance 

businesses, and owner and publisher of 

three newspapers in Baldwin County. 

He was the recipient of more than 35 

awards including 8 honorary doctorate 

degrees. 

Jimmy Faulkner was a great man, 

and a world traveler who visited over 

100 countries during his lifetime. He 

had a unique view of the entire world 

and the part of it he occupied, and he 

used that view and his knowledge to 

make Alabama and our Nation a better 

place. Those of us who knew him are 

all better for having shared his interesting life and benefitted from his brilliant mind.∑ 

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COMMENDING THE TOWN OF BELK, 

ALABAMA 

∑ Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, today 

I wish to tell you about the small town 

of Belk located in Fayette County, AL. 

While having a relatively small population—205 in 2007—Belt has an abundance of community spirit and people 

willing to give of their time and energy 

to make it a better place to live. They 

exemplify the ‘‘can-do, cooperative attitude which made America great. 

I visited Belk in August and was inspired by their attitude and approach. 

They feel greatly blessed to obtain any 

assistance, and use it along with their 

own efforts to maximize the benefits to 

Belk. They have a Volunteer Fire Department with 15 active members that 

purchased a new fire truck in 2001 with 

a grant and have since purchased 2 additional pumper-service trucks. 

In 2004, they built a fine new Community Center using a grant from the 

State of Alabama and a loan of $48,000. 

Holding a number of fundraising activities, including a gospel singing, silent, 

auction, golf tournament, and bluegrass festival, they have reduced that 

loan balance to $15,230. Every second 

Friday night they have a bluegrass festival at the center and volunteers donate food to be served in the kitchen. 

All revenues go to pay on the center’s 

debt and everyone has a wonderful 

time. 

In addition, in 2005 they constructed 

a community storm shelter using a 

small grant of $52,000 from FEMA. The 

design work was donated by a local 

contractor, and local tradesmen donated their time to do plumbing, electrical and water line work. 

This past spring they built a new outdoor stage using donations from corporations and local businesses for the 

design and materials, and the labor of 

local volunteers for the construction. 

This is the kind of volunteer effort, 

self-help, and love of community that I 

grew up knowing. It is still a common 

trait of small communities in Alabama, but, frankly, is being lost too 

often today. Belk has taken on the 

task of making their piece of America 

a better place to live. I would like to 

commend Mayor Ronald Waldrop, who 

sets the example, and every citizen who 

has volunteered their efforts to the 

greater good. I am truly honored to 

represent such people. They are men, 

women, and youth of faith, integrity, 

and hard work. Such are the people 

who have made America great.

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∑ 

HONORING ALVINA ELIZABETH 

SCHWAB PETTIGREW 

∑ Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, today, 

out of a sense of pride and gratitude, I 

wish to recognize the remarkable yet 

unheralded work of a group of women 

who quite literally saved innumerable 

lives and made a notable contribution 

to the Allied victory during World War 

II. One might wonder what has taken 

us so long to honor a group of women 

whose efforts date back over 65 years. 

The reason is that the nature of their 

work was so secret, the women were 

warned that they could be shot for 

treason if they ever revealed their activities. And so they didn’t. As a result, 

they never received the recognition 

they deserved. 

I am speaking of the WAVES (Women 

Accepted for Voluntary Emergency 

Service), who played an instrumental 

role in cracking the complex codes 

that the Germans used to radio instructions from German headquarters 

to the submarines that were sinking 

Allied ships. And when I said I was 

speaking out of a sense of pride, it is 

because Alvina Elizabeth Schwab 

Pettigrew from my home State of 

South Dakota was among this determined group of heroes. 

Alvina was born in 1919 on a farm 

near Mina, SD. She completed grades 

1–8 in a one-room schoolhouse and 

graduated from Mina High School. She 

received a scholarship to Grand Island 

Business College in Nebraska in 1936. 

But in 1942, this everyday American 

embarked on a journey that would call 

her to do extraordinary things in the 

service of our Nation. 

Alvina enlisted in the WAVES in October 1942 and was sent to Stillwater, 

OK, for 3 months of training. Following 

graduation, orders arrived for her to 

report to the Naval Communications 

Annex in Washington, DC. In nondescript buildings now housing the U.S. 

Department of Homeland Security, 

more than 600 WAVES labored secretly 

in support of the war effort. German Uboats had been sinking Allied ships at 

alarming rates. Between January and 

March 1942, the Germans sank 216 ships 

off the east coast alone. But the Americans, improving on cryptological 

breakthroughs by the Poles and the 

British, finally cracked the German 

codes. The WAVES were the ones who 

actually operated the machines that 

deciphered the codes. They had the 

German U-boat fleet fighting for its 

life. The WAVES ran the machines 

around the clock. The noise was headsplitting, the summer heat sweltering. 

But they forged ahead, knowing that 

American lives were at stake. 


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