E1746 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks September 30, 2004 HONORING THE LIFE OF PETTY final two decorations but they speak directly to Although it is now 20 years since the dis- OFFICER 3RD CLASS NATHAN his characteristics of selflessness, leadership aster, approximately 10–30 people continue to BRUCKENTHAL and sacrifice. For his heroic intercept of the die every month in Bhopal from toxic exposure suicide vessel, P03 Bruckenthal was post- and 150,000 people continue to suffer long- HON. STEVE ISRAEL humously awarded the Bronze Star with Valor term health consequences from the disaster. OF NEW YORK and the Purple Heart. The effects of the toxic gases also appear to IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Words do not easily capture the greatness be harming the next generation, as more over- of a young man like Nathan Bruckenthal nor whelming evidence is surfacing that points to Wednesday, September 29, 2004 can they do justice to his sacrifice or to the higher incidence of health effects and birth-de- Mr. ISRAEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to deep loss of his family. However, it is our duty fects among children born to gas-affected peo- honor the life of Nathan B. Bruckenthal, a life to ensure that the legacy of this great Amer- ple. that he gave for his country. P03 Bruckenthal, ican, like that of many who have fallen with A host of international organizations and U.S. Coast Guard, was killed in action at the him, is known and honored. Tom Brokaw independent investigators have concluded that Khawr Al Amay Oil Terminal off the coast of wrote not so long ago about what he termed Union Carbide’s inadequate technology, dou- Iraq on 24 April 2004 in a terrorist-suicide ‘‘The Greatest Generation.’’ He illustrated that ble standards in safety and emergency-pre- bombing. DC3 Bruckenthal became the first they were people who knew there was a need paredness compounded by a reckless cost- Coast Guardsman to lose his life in combat for service and then quietly answered that call. cutting drive at the plant were the principal since Vietnam. They were people who sacrificed so much but causes of the disaster. Based on these inves- P03 Bruckenthal was born on July 17, 1979. complained very little. They were people who tigations and other evidence, the authorities in Growing up in Stony Brook, Long Island, he labored far away while penning letters to loved India brought criminal charges against Union had a strong sense of service from his earliest ones at home speaking only of happiness, Carbide, its Indian subsidiary as well as local years. A member of the Junior ROTC while in their love and their future. Nathan Bruckenthal managers in 1987 for criminal negligence and high school and later a volunteer firefighter in may not have served with the men and reckless indifference leading to death. Ridgefield, Connecticut, Bruckenthal later re- women who are part of that WWII generation, In 1989, Union Carbide negotiated a settle- turned home to Long Island where he joined but I can tell you he would be right at home ment of $470 million with the Indian govern- the Coast Guard. with them. ment that was based on inaccurate statistics Bruckenthal went on to serve at Coast f about the scale and magnitude of the disaster Guard stations in Montauk, New York; York- in addition to being widely condemned by the town, Pennsylvania; and Neah Bay, Wash- PERSONAL EXPLANATION media and responsible jurists in India as insuf- ington. Having volunteered to become a dam- ficient, even when compared to compensation age control officer, Bruckenthal made an even HON. CHRISTOPHER SHAYS awards provided for under Indian law. The Su- greater commitment to continued service by OF CONNECTICUT preme Court of India in its judicial review of reenlisting, a decision he made with his new IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES the settlement in October 1991 held that the wife Pattie whom he had met while serving in criminal charges could not be overturned or Washington. Bruckenthal was subsequently Wednesday, September 29, 2004 dismissed based on the civil settlement and selected for the elite Coast Guard tactical law Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, on September 28, directed that the criminal prosecution against enforcement program and assigned to inclement weather delayed the train I was Union Carbide and the Indian accused must TACLET South, housed at the Coast Guard’s riding back to Washington and, therefore, I proceed in the courts of India. Miami Air Station. missed three recorded votes. When Union Carbide was served with a Lauded for his leadership by his com- I take my voting responsibility very seriously summons in the criminal case by the Bhopal manding officers and continually decorated for and would like the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD to District Court in 1992, and a notice to appear his achievements, P03 Bruckenthal was se- reflect that, had I been present, I would have for trial was published in the Washington Post, lected for deployment to Iraq where he would voted ‘‘yes’’ on recorded vote number 473, Union Carbide’s spokesmen responded with a work not only with the Coast Guard but with ‘‘yes’’ on recorded vote 474, and ‘‘yes’’ on re- public statement that the company was not the Navy and numerous foreign services. His corded vote 475. subject to the jurisdiction of India’s courts in dedication to service was needed in what f disregard of universally accepted international would soon be a war zone; his leadership was law regarding criminal jurisdiction acknowl- needed to make working with so many dis- BHOPAL RESOLUTION edged by both the United States and India. parate services a success. P03 Bruckenthal Based on its refusal to appear to face criminal went on to work in and around the critical Iraqi HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR. charges against it, the Bhopal District Court port of Um Qasar before being redeployed to OF NEW JERSEY issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Union the United States. But one tour of duty was IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Carbide, ordered that its remaining properties not enough for a man who always sought in India be attached to secure its appearance Wednesday, September 29, 2004 greater service. He volunteered to go back to and declared that the company was a ‘‘pro- Iraq. Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I introduced a claimed absconder’’ or fugitive from justice. While serving on his second tour, resolution today in recognition of the 20th an- Union Carbide has recently become a whol- Bruckenthal learned his wife was carrying his niversary of the Union Carbide Corporation ly-owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical unborn child. Still he soldiered on. While pa- gas leak that took place in Bhopal, India, in Corporation, which made the decision to ac- trolling in the Persian Gulf and training two December 2004. This 1984 Bhopal Gas Leak quire the company with full knowledge, ac- Navy seamen on intercept operations, P03 Disaster is widely regarded as the worst cording to its own public statements, of the Bruckenthal noticed a suspicious vessel. peacetime environmental catastrophe in world criminal charges pending against it and Union When the vessel would not heed his com- history, and this important resolution ex- Carbide’s status as an absconder or fugitive mands, Bruckenthal moved with his crew to presses the commitment of the United States from justice. Despite repeated public requests intercept the vessel. The vessel exploded and Congress to work with the Government of and protests around the world, Dow Chemical P03 Bruckenthal and his two crewmates were India and others to ensure that Union Carbide has refused to make its new subsidiary appear killed. Their selfless action saved the U.S.S. provides environmental and medical rehabilita- before the Bhopal District Court to face the Firebolt and its sailors as well as the off shore tion in Bhopal and is held responsible for its criminal charges pending against it for the dis- oil platform and terminal at Khawr Al Amaya. actions. aster. P03 Nathan Bruckenthal had now made the On the night of December 2, 1984, 27 tons Like Union Carbide before it, Dow Chemical ultimate sacrifice for his country: he gave his of poisonous gas including methyl isocyanate has, to date, continued to refuse to release all life. leaked from a storage tank at the Union Car- scientific research on the leaked gas, claiming P03 Bruckenthal had been well decorated bide Corporation’s pesticide plant in Bhopal that this information constitutes a commercial during his career, earning the USCG Marks- and quickly spread to the surrounding residen- ‘‘trade secret’’. Like Union Carbide before it, manship Ribbon, the Unit Commendation tial areas. Official estimates indicate a death Dow Chemical has also continued to refuse to Award, the Coast Guard Sea Service Ribbon, toll of 3,000 lives in the aftermath of the dis- release all of its own medical research on the National Defense Service Medal, the Coast aster, with unofficial estimates putting the toll toxicology of the leaked chemicals and gases Guard Merit Team Commendation and the much higher at 8,000. To date, the death toll to date. The lack of information on the gas Combat Action Medal. He will not know of his has climbed to more than 20,000 lives. has not only hindered the study of the long- VerDate Aug 04 2004 02:27 Oct 01, 2004 Jkt 029060 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 0626 Sfmt 9920 E:\CR\FM\A29SE8.034 E30PT1.