Thurmond honored on 97th birthday

Martin, a former Marine, noted that Thurmond took a four-year leave of absence from his judicial position for service in World War II. Thurmond landed in Normandy on D-Day with the 82nd Airborne Division and won a total of five Battle Stars. Overall, his military service has earned him 18 decorations, medals and awards, including the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for Valor. He served as a major general (U.S. Army Reserve) and amassed a total of 36 years in the Reserve and on active duty.

From Democrat To Republican

Thurmond is on three major committees-- Veterans' Affairs, Armed Services and Judiciary-and has served as the chairman of the latter two committees. He currently is President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate, and is third in line to succeed to the presidency after the Vice President and the Speaker of the House. He previously held that position from 1981-1987 and began his current tenure in 1995. In this role, he presides over the Senate when the Vice President is not present, and as presiding officer he can determine points of order and sign enrolled bills.

Martin reminisced that when he first started covering Congress in 1962, John F. Kennedy was President, and Thurmond, the junior senator from the Palmetto State, was still a Democrat. (The late Olin D. Johnston was then the senior senator.) As a Democrat and, despite pleas from President Lyndon B. Johnson, Thurmond backed Sen. Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee for President in 1964, and then switched to the Republican Party.

Over the years, Thurmond has served as a delegate to 12 national conventions, six as a Democrat and six as a Republican.

Martin called Thurmond a "proven fighter" for seniors as demonstrated by his sponsoring a bill "to abolish the most confiscatory of all taxes, the death or federal estate tax, which hurts mom-and-pop businesses and farmers who are 'land rich' and 'cash poor.' He also supported the Medicare Preservation Act to increase benefits to Medicare recipients and fought to save the Social Security surplus from being spent for reckless federal spending programs."

Copyright Human Events Publishing, Inc. Dec 31, 1999
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