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July 17, 2007
Norman Borlaug receives Congressional Gold Medal
Iowa's native son receives the nation's highest civilian honor. Here is a post from last year about Borlaug. Read the entire presentation by the President. Here are the first few paragraphs.
United States Capitol
10:53 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, all. Madame Speaker, thank you. Madame Speaker, Mr. Leader, members of the congressional leadership, members of the Iowa delegation, fighting Texas A&M Aggies, Dr. Borlaug and his family:
All around us are testaments to our republic's young and storied history. Yet sometimes it takes a ceremony like this to remind us what a special place America is.
Ours is a land of hope and promise and compassion. And we see that compassion and promise in the man we honor today -- a farm boy, educated in a one-room schoolhouse, who left the golden fields of Iowa to become known as "The man who fed the world."
Many have highlighted Norman Borlaug's achievements in turning ordinary staples such as wheat and rice into miracles that brought hope to millions. I particularly appreciated the story about a former Vice President, and fellow Iowan, named Henry Wallace, who once came to observe Norman's grain experiments up close. The Vice President looked around, and then asked why a good Iowa boy like Norman wasn't working on something to do with corn. (Laughter.)
For more on Borlaug, see today's Wall Street Journal.
And this from RadioIowa.
The honor for Dr. Borlaug is well deserved.
Posted by William Polley at July 17, 2007 02:53 PM
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