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“TRIBUTE TO AMBASSADOR MALCOLM TOON” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S6210 on June 13, 2001.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO AMBASSADOR MALCOLM TOON
Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, I rise today to pay special tribute to Ambassador Malcolm Toon, an outstanding American diplomat with a long and impressive record of service to our Nation. For Ambassador Toon this year's July Fourth celebration has particular meaning since it also marks his Eighty-fifth Birthday.
In a diplomatic career that spanned more than three decades, he served as U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Israel and held positions within the State Department as the Director of Soviet Affairs and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for European Affairs. These assignments provided Ambassador Toon with a degree of expertise and keen insight that would prove invaluable when, in March 1992, he was selected by President Bush to serve as the first U.S. chairman of a newly formed bilateral American-
Russian commission tasked with determining the fate of missing service personnel.
Under his six-year stewardship, the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs overcame many obstacles in pursuit of its humanitarian work on behalf of missing servicemen and their families. Thanks to his leadership and steadfastness, the fates of numerous military personnel have been clarified and a robust archival research program implemented. During his tenure the Joint Commission visited each of the fifteen independent states that comprised the former Soviet Union and urged heads of state and other senior officials to do all within their power to assist in the search for American servicemen still unaccounted for. Similar initiatives were directed at the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. I am personally aware of Ambassador Toon's deep sense of commitment to the POW/MIA issue since, as co-chairman of the Joint Commisson's Vietnam War Working Group, I had the privilege of serving with Ambassador Toon.
Prior to embarking on his diplomatic career in 1946, Ambassador Toon served in the U.S. Navy during World War II as a PT-Boat skipper, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Commander and earning the Bronze Star for valor. His academic credentials include a BA degree from Tufts University and graduate studies at Middlebury College and Harvard University.
I ask my colleagues to join with me today in recognizing a distinguished diplomat who has contributed greatly to our nation's commitment to the fullest possible accounting for our missing service personnel.
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