December 10, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S10879 

then had to be booked on flights to resettlement countries, even as air commerce shrank in Southeast Asia after 

1975. The creativity, courage, and perseverance of Mr. Corcos and his team 

in making this process run smoothly 

was amazing and won him well deserved international praise. 

Mr. Corcos came out of retirement 

again in 1979 to deal with a second 

surge of Indochinese refugees. This 

time, the numbers were even more 

enormous, but he was skillfully able to 

replicate the process of earlier years on 

a much larger regional basis. 

Mr. Corcos is a true humanitarian 

and made a vast difference in the lives 

of countless refugees fleeing from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos in the 1970s. 

He is a legend among those who created and benefitted from the Indochinese Refugee Program, and his legacy will forever be remembered.

f 

∑ 

ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS 

TRIBUTE TO COLONEL LISA LEONARD AND LIEUTENANT COLONEL 

RANDY JOHNSON 

∑ Mr. BOND. Madam President, we 

all know it would be impossible to do 

our jobs without the assistance of 

many dedicated professionals staffing 

the legislative liaison offices for all 

branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. 

Today, I pay tribute to COL Lisa 

Leonard and LTC Randy Johnson who 

joined the National Guard Bureau’s Office of Legislative Liaison as the Army 

and Air Liaison Officers and together 

collectively served 12 years and are 

now, unfortunately for us, retiring at 

the same time. 

Colonel Leonard and Lieutenant 

Colonel Johnson have served competently and well at a pivotal time in 

the history of the National Guard. 

Now, more than ever, America relies on 

the National Guard both at home and 

abroad. Since 9/11 more than 200,000 

Guard troops have left their homes, 

their jobs, and their families to participate in the global war on terror. The 

National Guard has provided as much 

as half of the combat force and 40 percent of the total force in Iraq. Guard 

troops are also called upon to respond 

to natural disasters at home like Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Understanding 

these dual missions is a job in itself. 

During Lisa and Randy’s tenure, the 

National Guard has also had to weather 

a controversial base realignment and 

closure, BRAC, round and several other 

major legislative battles concerning 

relative troop strength, equipment levels and the ability of the Guard to participate in major Pentagon decisions. 

Lisa’s and Randy’s contributions to 

the Senate began with their natural 

ability to establish personal relationships with staff while telling the story 

of the National Guard. They earned the 

respect of Members and staff on both 

sides of the aisle with their expertise, 

strong work ethic, and dedication to 

the job. 

These are truly the unsung heroes of 

the legislative process, faithfully providing information, expertise, and 

analysis on behalf of the National 

Guard on myriad national security and 

homeland security issues. 

We wish them both well in their wellearned retirement from Active Duty 

and from this assignment. They will be 

missed.∑ 

f 

TRIBUTE TO THOMAS W. 

RICHARDSON 

∑ Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, 

Mr. Thomas W. Richardson of the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers will soon retire with over 37 years of exceptional 

service to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He is member of the Senior Executive Service and is the Director of 

Corps’ Engineer Research and Development Center Coastal Hydraulic Laboratory. His accomplishments and dedication to the Corps of Engineers’ laboratory community and the Army are exceptional and will have a significant 

and long lasting positive impact on 

this Nation. 

Following 3 years of service as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mr. Richardson began his Army 

civilian career in 1974 as a research hydraulic engineer at the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, 

in Vicksburg, MS. Through the 1970s 

and early 1980s he was a principal investigator for research studies on 

dredging systems for beach nourishment for offshore sources and an assistant investigator on a research study to 

develop new systems for bypassing 

sand past tidal inlets. During this time 

he designed and constructed the 

world’s first portable, land-based hydraulic sand bypassing system, which 

was delivered to the Corps of Engineers 

North Central Division as an operational plant. A systematic approach 

became available to address a major 

national concern with both economic 

and strategic aspects; that of bypassing 

sand to preserve beaches and to maintain harbor channels. 

In 1983, Mr. Richardson became chief 

of the coastal structures and evaluation branch, Coastal Engineering Research Center where he supervised 16 

researchers specializing in functional 

design and performance of coastal 

structures, dredging and sand bypassing systems, geomorphic evaluation, 

and empirical design methods for 

coastal projects. From branch chief he 

quickly moved up to division chief in 

1985 and served in that capacity for 14 

years, first as chief of the Engineering 

Development Division and then as the 

Chief of the Coastal Sediments and Engineering Division. He directed numerous comprehensive research and development investigations, and studies of 

coastal processes, sediment transport, 

shoreline change modeling, beach fill 

design methods, prototype systems design and development, and functional 

design of coastal projects. Notably, he 

developed general technical approaches 

and R&D programs that produced the 

extraordinarily successful and patented 

CORE–LOC concrete armor unit and 

the Scanning Hydrographic Operational Airborne LIDAR Survey— 

SHOALS—system. 

Mr. Richardson assumed the duties of 

acting assistant lab director in January 2000. In June of that same year, he 

was elevated to acting director, CHL. 

Mr. Richardson joined the Senior Executive Service in March 2002 upon becoming director of the CHL. 

Under the leadership of Mr. Richardson, the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory directly supported the Army 

transformation, civil works strategic 

plan, global war on terrorism operations, and high priority civil works 

operations. In addition, CHL addressed 

critical levee issues for the Department of Homeland Security by developing a unique system to rapidly repair 

breaches in levees caused by natural 

phenomena or terrorist attack. 

Throughout his career, Tom Richardson has demonstrated a profound commitment to the Army, the Corps of Engineers, and the Nation. He is a consummate professional whose performance in over 37 years of service has personified those traits of competency and 

integrity that our Nation has come to 

expect of its senior civilian leaders. I 

congratulate Mr. Richardson on his 

distinguished service to the U.S. Army 

and the Nation.

f 

∑ 

REMEMBERING RYNE DOUGHERTY 

∑ Mr. LAUTENBERG. Madam President, I wish to pay tribute to Ryne 

Dougherty, a young man from 

Montclair, NJ, whose young life was 

tragically cut short on October 15. He 

suffered a fatal brain hemorrhage while 

playing football, the sport about which 

he was so passionate. Although he was 

only 16 years old, Ryne made a tremendous impact on his teammates, friends, 

and community. He was a caring and 

loving young man who displayed a special kindness and a deep commitment 

to his friends and family. An honor student and linebacker on the Montclair 

High School Junior Varsity football 

team, Ryne also found time to fix computers to benefit underprivileged families. Ryne was admired by all who 

knew him—over 1,000 mourners gathered together to remember him and 

comfort each other. 

Ryne worked toward his goals with 

steadfast determination, eager to succeed. His football coach said that Ryne 

never sought glory or praise; he came 

to the field every day prepared to work 

his hardest out of respect for his teammates and love for the game. Family 

and friends said that Ryne always 

wanted to talk about football. He was 

always ready with the latest NFL statistics and greatly enjoyed playing 

football video games with his friends in 

his spare time. To honor Ryne, the New 

York Giants held a moment of silence 

during their game on October 19, a fitting tribute for a young fan.