Tribute To Einar Dyhrkopp

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, this past Saturday, 1 day before the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, a survivor of a different World War II kamikaze bombing died quietly at his home in Shawneetown, IL, at the age of 82.

Einar Dyhrkopp, business leader, public servant, and patriot, was a 19-year-old Navy firefighter assigned to the bowels of the USS Aaron Ward when the destroyer-minelayer was attacked by 25 kamikaze bombers in the battle for Okinawa.

In the years after World War II, Gen. George C. Marshall was asked if America had any secret weapons to win that conflict. General Marshall replied, yes, we do, ``the best darn kids in the world.'' Einar was just the kind of kid General Marshall was talking about. About 365 men were assigned to the USS Aaron Ward; 42 of them burned to death or were lost overboard in the 52-minute battle on May 3, 1945. Einar was one of the lucky ones: he survived the attack, although his hair was burned to his scalp as he fought to douse the ship's flames.

When the war ended, Einar came home like so many World War II vets, found new ways to serve his country. He married Frances, and they had a son. He was a banker, a business leader, a livestock and grain farmer in southern Illinois, and a great politician. He was elected mayor of Shawneetown, IL, where he was born and lived his entire life. He was a self-described ``dyed in the wool'' Democrat. He was respected and admired by people from both political parties.

He was also a dedicated public servant. In 1993, Einar Dyhrkopp was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors and served two terms as the Chairman. During his tenure, the Postal Service experienced an unprecedented 5 straight years of positive net income. It also enhanced service and increased its ontime delivery rate for next-day delivery to 94 percent. He cared about the Postal Service's bottom line and its customers. He talked to me so many times about issues related to the Postal Service. He cared about the workers there too. He once invited picketing postal workers in for coffee and cinnamon rolls and, after talking with them, answered all of their questions. He visited countless postal facilities, asking employees what we can do to make their job better and make our services better in the Postal Service. In 2003, the post office in his beloved Shawneetown was rededicated and renamed in his honor. Einar had tears in his eyes as the tributes were read.

Mr. Dyhrkopp also served on several Illinois State commissions and was a member of the Regional Advisory Board of Southern Illinois University Public Policy Institute.

There was the one curious political chapter in his life. In 1986, Einar Dyhrkopp ran what he called a noncampaign for the U.S. Senate. He ran on the Illinois Solidarity Party slate, a roster of statewide candidates put together by Adlai Stevenson III. Mr. Stevenson, son of the two-time Democratic Presidential candidate, had won the Democratic nomination for Governor, but that primary had been raided by the LaRouche party. He abandoned the Democratic Party ticket after two disciples of the extremist Lyndon LaRouche won slots on the Democratic slate in a disastrous primary election. Mr. Stevenson said he could not in good conscience share a ticket with people whose views he found so objectionable. State law required that the new Illinois Solidarity Party field a whole slate of statewide candidates, not just the gubernatorial candidate. So Einar stepped up and agreed to be the new party's nominee for U.S. Senate.

What a crazy campaign. Mr. Dyhrkopp did not accept a single penny in campaign contributions. He did not spend a dollar or make one speech. He did not even vote for himself, announcing he was going to cast his ballot for his friend, the incumbent, Senator Alan Dixon. As one political writer put it, his strategy was ``not to leave the house until the election was over so he wouldn't draw attention or votes away from Senator ..... Dixon.'' Despite his best efforts to avoid the voters, Einar ended up with 15,000 votes. That is the kind of man he was--hard not to like. As my friend Paul Simon said some years ago, ``Einar Dyhrkopp represents responsible citizenship at its best. He has aided his community and provided leadership on the State and national scene. He has gone out of his way to help those who need assistance.''

For years after the bombing of the USS Aaron Ward, Einar did not talk about the attack. He told a reporter, ``When you go through something like we went through together, almost everyone wants to get it out of their minds the first few years.'' Later in life, he changed his mind. He became active in a group of survivors of the Aaron Ward attack. He was interviewed by Southern Illinois University's public broadcasting stations in conjunction with the broadcast of ``The War,'' by Ken Burns, a documentary on World War II. He told a reporter that his change of heart was simply because ``[w]e do not want the experience lost. If you lose history, you're destined to repeat it.''

America's history might have taken a far different and darker course had Einar Dyhrkopp and millions of others of ``the best darned kids in the world'' not sacrificed and served in that conflict and had they not come back home to serve their Nation in other ways for decades more.

He was a good man who gave much to his community, much to my State of Illinois, and much to America. Last Friday, at the urging of some friends who told me he was seriously ill, I called his home. Frances answered the phone, and I told her who I was. I said I thought I would say a word or two to Einar if he can take the call. Well, she said, I am not sure he can talk to you. I did not know how sick he was. And she leaned over, and I could overhear her saying: Einar, it is Senator Durbin. The next think I knew, Einar was on the phone. We only chatted for a minute or two. We talked about the great times we had together, about that wonderful man, Paul Simon, who inspired us all to get involved in public life.

He said: I think this is the end for me.

I said: You have had a good run at it, Einar. You have been with some great people, and you have been a great friend.

Those were our last words. He died the following day.

I offer my sympathy to Mr. Dyhrkopp's wife Frances, their family, including their three grandchildren, and so many friends in southern Illinois. Einar Dyhrkopp will be missed.

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