TRIBUTE TO A CIA LEGEND, WILLIAM L. MOSEBEY, JR.
[Page: E459]
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HON. BUD SHUSTER
in the House of Representatives
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 1996
- Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to William Mosebey who will receive, on Friday, March 29, 1996, the Central Intelligence Agency's Distinguished Intelligence Medal from Director of Central Intelligence , John Deutch.
- Bill Mosebey has served our country with distinction for 34 years in the faroff outposts of the cold war. In those years, he rose to the highest level in the Central Intelligence Agency's clandestine service, but, more importantly he became a legend. Not since Chinese Gordon defended the gates of Khartoum has an officer reached the stature of William Mosebey. With a wry sense of humor, and a brilliant operational mind, he managed and executed the most difficult of clandestine operations, fulfilling every objective set out for him. He served as a chief of station in four countries. In each of them, he spent his share of time recruiting and managing wellplaced human penetrations.
- His arrival in any post was a sure signal that the country was high on our President's priority list. His foes across the stark lines of the cold war knew that they were facing the ultimate professional--one who stands in the intelligence hall of fame with men like Richard Helms and Alan Dulles. At the same time, there was always time for a visit to the Bundu to add a new trophy to his wall.
- Bill Mosebey is one of the unsung heros of our great victory over Marxism, but there is also another unsung hero and that is his wife Carolyn. In Bill's own words:
- Whatever contribution I was able to make to our national effort over the years of the cold war and after was sustained by the fact that I had a very engaged and supportive wife who, without question, would go anywhere and do anything the job demanded. As far as I am concerned she is stamped `keep forever' (an old KGB classification).
- In Washington, a place that always made him long for the bush, he set an example for young officers. Never was there a time when he didn't have a moment to walk a new recruit through the intricacies of running a spy. Always ready to open his home with a homecooked meal from Carolyn's kitchen, he would entertain into the night with stories and laughter, but one came away from these evenings knowing that they had been in the presence of one of the great ones.
- Mr. Speaker, Bill Mosebey is the Central Intelligence Agency's `Riley Ace of Spies.' We owe him our gratitude and should shower him with our thanks. But knowing Bill, who has returned to his roots as a farmer in central Pennsylvania, he will be happy if the Sun shines, if it rains after the spring planting, and the hunting remains good this fall. But, he should also be pleased knowing that he left the Central Intelligence Agency with honor, with a distinguished record, and my enduring respect, along with those in the intelligence community, for a job well done.