H3426 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE June 11, 2002 Norton is clearly operating, a number Uly Sharp was responsible at that Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise of us are asking to meet personally point to the Secretary of Defense and this evening to draw attention to the with the President to explain the situa- the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the overall struggle of journalists and their work tion in California. If he is following the supervision of the United States com- toward freedom of information and counsel of Secretary Norton, he is get- bat operations in Vietnam and freedom of the press in Cuba. Cuba was ting bad advice that needs to be coun- throughout the Pacific during the 4 recently ranked by the Committee to tered. years that followed. After that, Mr. Protect Journalists as one of the 10 The President was right to take his Speaker, he came home and retired in worst places for journalists to work. action in Florida. It is our hope to con- San Diego and was a great member of For the past 7 years, the committee vince him to help all of us out on the our community. has also listed Fidel Castro as one of West Coast who want to protect our en- He wrote a book called ‘‘Strategy for the top 10 enemies of the press. vironment as well, and to control our Defeat’’, which I would commend to Cuba is the only Latin American na- economic destiny, just like they want those who follow military affairs and tion where the press is completely to do in Florida. who need to be reminded that the way gagged. The Cuban constitution in- cludes a ban on all non-governmental f we achieve peace in this world and the way we have achieved peace in this media outlets, giving Castro complete FAREWELL TO ULYSSES S. GRANT world is through military strength. Uly control over all media outlets. After 43 SHARP, A GREAT AMERICAN Sharp was really a model citizen, a years of power, Castro shows no sign of The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a model soldier citizen in the sense that lessening his stranglehold on the press. previous order of the House, the gen- he thought that when a military per- Mr. Speaker, last week the New York tleman from California (Mr. HUNTER) is son retires, their next duty is to be- Times published an article on the work recognized for 5 minutes. come involved in civic and political af- and struggles of Omar Rodriguez Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, for the fairs, and Uly did that. He was one of Saludes, one of only 100 independent first time in 20 years, I find myself my first advisors. journalists working in Cuba. Inde- going back to San Diego with my Twenty years ago, when I was run- pendent journalists like Omar who friend and seatmate, the gentleman ning for office and had no chance to would choose to work outside the gov- from California (Mr. CUNNINGHAM), who win, and when my friend, the gen- ernment-controlled media outlets are is very much interested in national se- tleman from California (Mr. denounced by Castro as curity, as I am, and missing one of our CUNNINGHAM) came along in 1990 and counterrevolutionaries and are barred most trusted advisors at the table. similarly had a very difficult race, Uly from covering official events. Inde- That has occurred because we have lost Sharp showed up and worked hard and pendent reporters face repeated inter- Ulysses S. Grant Sharp, one of our tried to drag us across the finish line, rogation and detainment by Cuban au- great admirals and one of our great and did so successfully. He was a won- thorities, monitoring and interruption military leaders. derful guy who always had time for the of their telephone calls, restrictions on Mr. Speaker, his story is largely the community, was a leader of our mili- their travel; and they are often placed military’s story of this last century. tary community in San Diego, as a 4- under house arrest to prevent coverage He graduated from the United States star admiral, a guy who brought every- of certain events. A new tactic of intimidation involves Naval Academy in 1927. He served be- body together and imparted advice to arresting journalists and releasing fore World War II on the battleship all of those who were willing to listen them hundreds of miles from their USS New Mexico, the transport the USS about military affairs. One of my best memories of Uly is homes. Sumner, the destroyers the USS Bu- To report the news, Omar travels going over on a Sunday afternoon with chanan and the USS Winslow, the car- around Havana on a battered child-size my dad to his house at Point Loma and rier the USS Saratoga and the cruiser bicycle, knowing that he can make his listening to him as he laid out the wis- the USS Richmond. After that, and dur- deadline as long as he does not have a dom of almost a full century of service ing World War II, he was awarded two flat tire, or if a corner policeman does in the United States military. Silver Stars while commanding the not confiscate his notes, tape recorder, USS Boyd for action at Wake Island in Uly Sharp was a model, I think, for all Americans, not just people that and camera. Omar writes his articles in the Marianas, the Philippine Islands, longhand, or basically on a 20-year-old wear the uniform, but especially for Okinawa, Formosa and the Gilbert Is- typewriter that he and a group of re- people that wear the uniform, because lands. Admiral Sharp finished the war porters share. He gathers every 2 weeks he believed that every citizen had a on the staff of Commander, Destroyer or so with other journalists in a double obligation, and that was an ob- Force Pacific. cramped apartment in Havana’s China- ligation to serve the country in uni- He was a great warrior, Mr. Speaker. town, which is the makeshift head- form, and he carried that out very After he left his battlefield command quarters of one news agency. He and proudly and very well, but also the ob- after World War II, he could see Korea others await their turn to place a ligation to be involved in civic and po- on the horizon and in that war he com- phone call and dictate their stories to litical affairs. He also carried that bur- manded the Destroyer Squadron FIVE. several Web sites on Cuban affairs in He served with the staff of Commander, den and that mantle very well. the United States. And even then, the So, Mr. Speaker, it is a sad thing for Seventh Fleet as Fleet Planning Offi- state-owned telephone monopoly fre- me personally that I will never see Uly cer for the Inchon invasion. In 1951 he quently refuses to connect their inter- again, going back to San Diego and sit- was assigned as Chief of Staff of Com- national calls. mander, Second Fleet. ting down with folks who give me great Mr. Speaker, Cuba is the only coun- In 1953 he assumed command of the advice on national security. I know the try in the Western Hemisphere where a cruiser USS Macon, and following the gentleman from California (Mr. journalist is currently jailed for his command, he served as deputy for Com- CUNNINGHAM) would say the same work. In 1997, journalist Bernardo mander in Chief Pacific Fleet. thing. Uly Sharp was a great American Arevalo Padron was jailed for ‘‘dis- But it was during Vietnam, Mr. and really served our country well. God respecting’’ Castro and another Cuban Speaker, in 1964, in which he was ap- bless him. state council member, Carlos Lage. pointed by the President to become f The charges stem from a series of Commander in Chief Pacific; that is b 1945 interviews that Arevalo gave to a CINCPAC, a unified command of nearly Miami-based radio station in which he 1 million Army, Navy, Marine and Air OPPRESSION OF FREEDOM OF THE alleged that while farmers starved, hel- Force personnel in an 85-million- PRESS IN CUBA icopters were taking fresh meat from square-mile area and, at that point, the The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. DAN the countryside to the dinner tables of entire Vietnam theater that he really MILLER of Florida). Under a previous Castro and Lage. became a very major leader of Amer- order of the House, the gentleman from Despite being eligible for parole and ican military forces in a very critical New Jersey (Mr. PALLONE) is recog- in declining health, Arevalo continues conflict. nized for 5 minutes. to be held in a labor camp. VerDate 11-MAY-2000 05:36 Jun 12, 2002 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00128 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\K11JN7.106 pfrm01 PsN: H11PT1 June 11, 2002 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H3427 Mr. Speaker, in the United States, we the same people that make the aspirin. will be $64, or I can order it from Eu- take I think all too often for granted In the United States, the average price rope for you on the Web, and we can the rights and freedoms of our journal- for a 30-day supply of Cipro is $87.99. have it here in 3 days, and the price ists. We just assume that it is true That same drug in Berlin sells for will be $18, or whatever the number is.