SECRETARY OF DEFENSE STATEMENT UPON LEARNING OF THE DEATH OF U.S. NAVY ADMIRAL JEREMY MICHAEL BOORDA

(The following statement was made earlier today by Secretary of Defense William J. Perry at the White House.)

I'd like to express my personal grief at the death of my friend and my trusted colleague, Mike Boorda, and to offer my profound sympathy to his wife Bettie and their family.

Admiral Boorda was a sailor's sailor. At every stage of his career he put the interests of sailors and their families first. Mike Boorda helped make our Navy the best that the world has ever seen. I relied deeply on his advice. I loved his spirit. And I admired his love for the Navy and its people. And his untimely death is a loss to the Navy, the Department of Defense, to the nation as well as to his family.

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