Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: November 18, 1996

Release #593-96

Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958 or Jack Deacy (212) 788 - 2969


MAYOR GIULIANI HONORS GENERAL COLIN POWELL
AND WILLIAM STEERE AT SALUTE TO FREEDOM DINNER

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani tonight joined a host of prominent Americans in honoring General Colin Powell and businessman William Steere at the 1996 Salute To Freedom Dinner aboard the USS Intrepid. Also attending the annual event sponsored by the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum were Senator Alfonse D'Amato, Secretary of the Navy John Dalton, Secretary of the Army Togo West, Michael Handy, Director of the Mayor's Office of Veterans Affairs and Zachary Fisher, Founder and Chairman of the Intrepid Museum Foundation.

"It is fitting that two of America's heroes are being honored tonight on the decks of the USS Intrepid, a proud symbol of strength and endurance and a ship that survived bombs, torpedoes and kamikaze attacks during World War II," Mayor Giuliani said. "General Powell shares with the Intrepid and the City of New York these qualities of strength, endurance and resolve. A native New Yorker, a product of New York City, General Powell began his military career in 1958 and retired as Commander of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1993."

"General Powell has also served on his country's front line -- in Vietnam -- where he won numerous awards for valor," the Mayor added. "He has dedicated his life to defending freedom, to preserving American values and to fighting for democratic principles. He is not only New York's favorite son, General Powell is a true American success story."

The Mayor also praised the contributions of William Steere, the Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Pfizer, Inc. "Bill Steere has also served America and New York well, though in different ways," the Mayor observed. "As one of our nation's leading businessmen, Bill Steere has risen to be Chairman and CEO of Pfizer, Inc., one of America's leading pharmaceutical companies. As a top pharmaceutical professional, and as a member of the Board of Overseers of Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, he has devoted his life to helping his fellow Americans stricken with disease."

Mayor Giuliani also congratulated General Donald Gardner , who served in the US Marine Corps for 40 years, on his appointment as President and CEO of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. The Museum draws 500,000 visitors a year. The proceeds from tonight's dinner will go toward the support of the Museum's educational programs.

Previous honorees at the Salute To Freedom Dinner include the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, former President Ronald Reagan, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Russian President Boris Yeltsin.



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