June 24, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 116 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E562]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HONORING DON GREER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. H. MORGAN GRIFFITH

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 24, 2020

  Mr. GRIFFITH. Madam Speaker, I offer these remarks in honor of Donald 
Edward Greer of Blacksburg, Virginia, who passed away on May 28, 2020 
at the age of 96. Mr. Greer was a career military pilot and a pioneer 
in satellite technology.
  Mr. Greer was the second of Nellie and Fred Greer's seven children 
and was born in 1924 in Rock Island, Washington. While studying at the 
University of the Pacific, he met his wife Loretta Walker. They were 
married in the college chapel and enjoyed 64 years of marriage together 
until her death in 2013. He also played football during his time at the 
university, participating in the Raisin Bowl and playing alongside 
future NFL quarterback Eddie LaBaron.
  As a military pilot, Mr. Greer served his country in two wars and 
held important responsibilities. In World War II, he flew B-29s from 
the Mariana Islands. In the Korean War, he completed 33 missions and 
more than 300 flying hours with his brother Herb in the same crew, the 
only set of family members that were flying combat missions together. 
He later flew the latest aircraft for the Strategic Air Command, 
piloted Air Force One for President Lyndon B. Johnson, and served as 
the congressional liaison for Secretary of the Air Force Eugene M. 
Zuckert. He retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel.
  In 1964, Mr. Greer became Vice President of Executive Services at 
Communications Satellite Corporation. In the heated days of the Space 
Race with the Soviet Union, he and the corporation's president, Dr. 
Joseph Charyk, devoted their energy to the development of 
geosynchronous satellites. They traveled the world and built support 
for the endeavor. Satellite communications would become a building 
block of the modern world.
  Apart from his work responsibilities, Mr. Greer enjoyed hunting and 
fishing. He was a skilled golfer who played in many tournaments 
alongside Dr. Charyk. In his later years, he retired to Blacksburg and 
became a fan of Virginia Tech, the alma mater of his daughter Heather 
and four of his grandchildren.
  He is survived by his daughters Heather and Rhonda and their husbands 
Wally and Mike, six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and his 
younger siblings Harry and Dallas. I offer my condolences to them upon 
the close of Don Greer's remarkable life.

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