June 6, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E 1159

York, Republican Committee is hereby directed to forward this resolution to the

above named State and Federal Officials.

JOHN SCHEMMEL, GERMANAMERICAN OF THE YEAR

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HON. DAVID E. BONIOR OF MICHIGAN

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, June 6, 1995

Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to

pay tribute to my good friend, John

Schemmel. John was honored by the members of the German-American Cultural Center

this past Sunday during the 45th anniversary

banquet. He was named German American of

the Year at the Carpathia Hall in Sterling

Heights, MI.

John is a first generation German-American.

His parents immigrated from Siebenbuergen

before he was born in 1920. From an early

age John developed an appreciation of his

heritage. He attended St. Thomas German Lutheran School as an elementary student. His

German roots were rapidly becoming intertwined with America by the time he became a

teenager. He was first baseman in the Transylvania Saxons Junior Association fast pitch

softball league and, as team manager, he and

his teammates won the championship in 1939.

In 1942, John found himself in the U.S.

Army as an infantryman. He served in the

Aleutian Islands and eventually in France and

Germany. After returning to the States, John

worked for Chrysler Corp., the Detroit Police

Department, and he attended the Michigan

Technical School for electrical study. He eventually joined the engineering staff at General

Motors where he worked for 33 years. John

also became one of the first trustees of UAW

Local 160 at the General Motors Technical

Center.

Long before John began engineering world

class quality cars, he was active in organizations that celebrate and commemorate his

German heritage. He has been a member of

the Alliance of Transylvanian Saxons since

1937 and has served in every office of the

Siebenbuerger Sachsen Verein. He sang tenor

with the GBU-Saxonia Gemischterchor. The

members of the German American Cultural

Center are well aware of John’s efforts to preserve the rich German heritage that exists in

the metropolitan Detroit area. He served as

the center’s president for 4 years and is currently the group’s first vice president.

In addition to his involvement with cultural

organizations, John is a member of the Fraternal Order of Police, the Veterans of Foreign

Wars, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the United Automobile Workers Local 160, and the

Roseville Democratic Committee.

John’s pride in his German heritage is only

equaled by his pride in being American. He

has devoted time and energy to his colleagues, his community, our Nation, and his

family and friends in numerous capacities. I

applaud the German American Cultural Center

for recognizing John. He has provided outstanding leadership to the group and I know

he is proud to be honored by the members.

On behalf of the German-American community, I urge my colleagues to join me in saluting John Schemmel, German-American of the

year.

FAIR WINDS AND FOLLOWING

SEAS FOR VICE ADM. DONALD F.

HAGEN, MC, USN

HON. OWEN B. PICKETT OF VIRGINIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, June 6, 1995

Mr. PICKETT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to

recognize and honor a truly outstanding naval

officer and physician, Vice Adm. Donald F.

Hagen, for his devoted and distinguished service as the Surgeon General of the Navy. It is

a privilege for me to recognize his many outstanding achievements and commend him for

the superb service he has provided to the Department of the Navy and to our great Nation

as a whole.

During his 30 year Navy career, Vice Admiral Hagen has served our Nation in a variety

of roles, ranging from combat surgeon to the

chief executive of a unique, worldwide health

care system dedicated to providing health care

and related medical services to Navy and Marine Corps members, retirees, and their families.

Upon commissioning as a lieutenant in the

U.S. Navy Medical Corps in 1964, Vice Admiral Hagen assumed his first assignment as a

battalion surgeon with the Marines in Chu Lai,

Republic of Vietnam. He returned to Vietnam

twice more, serving aboard the hospital ship

U.S.S. Repose and then as staff surgeon with

the Riverine Assault Forces in the Mekong

Delta.

Vice Admiral Hagen’s experiences as a primary care physician under combat conditions

led him to seek a career in surgery. His surgical training took him to Naval Hospital, St.

Albans, NY, and Naval Hospital, Portsmouth,

VA. He then served as staff surgeon at Naval

Aerospace and Regional Medical Center, Pensacola, FL; Naval Hospital Yokosuska, Japan;

and Naval Regional Medical Center, Jacksonville, FL. During these years, Vice Admiral

Hagen gained not only clinical expertise, but

became proficient in all aspects of hospital

medical staff leadership.

Due to his extensive combat experience

aboard hospital ships and service with the Marine Corps, Vice Admiral Hagen was selected

to head the Contingency Planning Division at

the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery where he

served from 1981–1984. Returning his energies to peacetime clinical medicine in 1984, he

assumed command of Naval Hospital, Camp

Pendleton, CA. During this tour, Vice Admiral

Hagen’s broadly based record of excellence

was recognized by his selection to flag rank.

As a rear admiral, Dr. Hagen returned to

Washington, DC, as Director, Health Care Operations, Navy Medical Command and Chief of

the Medical Corps. In December 1988, he assumed command of the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD. On June 28, 1991,

Dr. Hagen took command of all aspects of

Navy Medicine with the rank of vice admiral as

the 31st Surgeon General of the Navy.

Vice Adm. Donald F. Hagen will complete

his tour as the Surgeon General of the Navy

in July 1995, concluding more than 30 years

of Federal service. Vice Admiral Hagen has

provided the broad vision, innovation, and

dedicated leadership which have resulted in

the Navy’s current high state of medical excellence. A man of Vice Admiral Hagen’s talent

and integrity is rare indeed and while his honorable service will be genuinely missed, it

gives me great pleasure to call upon my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to wish

him and his family every success as well as

fair winds and following seas.

TRIBUTE TO THE CHURCH OF ST.

MARGARET MARY ON ITS 75TH

fANNIVERSARY

HON. CHARLES E. SCHUMER OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, June 6, 1995

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. Speaker, June 4 will

mark the 75th anniversary of the Roman

Catholic parish of St. Margaret Mary in Manhattan Beach. Though small in membership,

the church of St. Margaret Mary remains one

of the largest parishes in the Dioceses of New

York. This church has provided strong leadership to the community of Manhattan Beach,

while serving as a role model to other small

Catholic churches within the dioceses. Since

1928, the families of Manhattan Beach have

maintained an active membership to St. Margaret Mary’s Church. In honor of this anniversary celebration, I rise to salute the generations of parishioners who have made St. Margaret Mary’s Church a valuable addition to

New York’s spiritual community.

The history of St. Margaret Mary’s Church is

characterized by courage, strength, and a will

to survive during difficult times. For over 75

years, parishioners have overcome severe financial obstacles, often threatening the very

existence of the church. Yet, the church and

its members fought hard to keep it functioning.

By maintaining a strong sense of unity

throughout the years, the parishioners of St.

Margaret Mary’s Church have successfully

preserved the character and vitality of the

Manhattan Beach community.

On this most joyous anniversary celebration,

the Church of St. Margaret Mary remains a

beacon of strength and hope for every Catholic church in New York. May the families and

future parishioners of St. Margaret Mary’s be

blessed with the good fortune of celebrating

many more anniversary celebrations well into

the future.

TRIBUTE TO LOW-INCOME

HOUSING PARTNERSHIP

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HON. WILLIAM (BILL) CLAY OF MISSOURI

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, June 6, 1995

Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the collaborative efforts of two institutions in my district, whose achievements are

helping to rebuild and restore hope in south

St. Louis. DeSales Community Housing Association and Equality Savings and Loan Association have been recognized by the Social

Compact in the 1995 Outstanding Community

Investment Awards for their partnership

achievement: the creation of an innovative

housing program that allows residents to participate fully in the decisions that are shaping

their community.

The Social Compact is a national coalition

of leaders from the financial services industry