THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 28, 1996 TAG: 9605280043
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 36 lines
The widow of Adm. Jeremy ``Mike'' Boorda and her four children have sent a message of thanks to ``those wonderful sailors'' around the world for what she called their ``overwhelming outpouring of wonderful stories and letters'' in the wake of Boorda's suicide May 16.
``You have made our lives bearable by all the letters and telephone calls of support,'' Bettie Moran Boorda said in the message, which was transmitted to the fleet on Friday night by Navy Secretary John H. Dalton.
The two-paragraph message included a passage which Mrs. Boorda wrote ``might be something like'' what her husband would want to say to those he left behind.
``You are the heart and soul of our Navy,'' that section read. ``Take care of each other. Be honorable. Do what is right. Forgive when it makes sense, punish when you must, but always work to make the latter unnecessary by working to help people be all they really can be and should be. One-on-one leadership really will work if you let it and honestly apply it. Our great Navy people will live on. I am proud of you. I am proud to have led you if for only a short time. God bless each and every one of you.''
Adm. Boorda, the chief of naval operations, shot himself in the chest outside his home at the Washington Navy Yard. He left two suicide notes, one for his family and the other reportedly addressed ``to the sailors.'' Neither note has been released publicly.
Boorda killed himself shortly before reporters from Newsweek magazine were to question him about the validity of military decorations he once wore. Sources have suggested that one or both of his suicide notes indicated that Boorda viewed the wearing of the ``Combat V'' as an honest mistake but was concerned that some in the media and the Navy would not.
KEYWORDS: US NAVY SUICIDE ADMIRAL BOORDA by CNB