Senator Collins’ Statement on Passing of Richard Dudman

Washington, D.C. - This morning, U.S. Senator Susan Collins entered a statement into the Congressional Record on behalf of Richard Dudman, an esteemed journalist who passed away last evening.

An excerpt of Senator Collins’ statement follows:

“In this time of sorrow, I offer my deep condolences to Helen and their family. I hope they will find comfort in Richard’s inspiring legacy and in a life well-lived,” said Senator Collins. “It has been said that we all have a Birthdate and a Deathdate, with a dash in between. It’s what we do with our dash that counts. Richard Dudman’s dash was extraordinarily long, and he made it count. He filled it with passion, professionalism, and dedication. May his memory inspire us all to do the same.”

Senator Collins’ full statement in the Congressional Record follows:

M-. President. Richard Dudman, one of our nation’s most esteemed journalists, passed away at his Maine home last night. I rise today in tribute to a great American reporter and engaged citizen.

After serving in the Merchant Marine and U.S. Navy Reserve during World War II, Mr. Dudman began his journalism career at the Denver Post in 1945 and joined the St. Louis Post-Dispatch four years later. In his more than three decades at the Post-Dispatch, he covered Fidel Castro’s Cuban Revolution, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Watergate and Iran-Contra scandals, as well as armed conflicts from the Middle East and Asia to Central and South America.

In 1970, while covering the Vietnam War, Mr. Dudman was captured by the Viet Cong and held prisoner in Cambodia, a harrowing experience he wrote about in his acclaimed book, Forty Days With the Enemy. In 1981, on his last day as Washington Bureau Chief for the Post-Dispatch, he ran up Connecticut Avenue to cover the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan. For some of the most momentous events of the second half of the 20th Century, Richard Dudman wrote the first draft of history.

After retiring and moving to Ellsworth and Little Cranberry Island in Maine, Mr. Dudman continued to contribute to the Post-Dispatch and wrote more than 1,000 editorials for the Bangor Daily News. Among his many accolades are the prestigious George Polk Career Award in Journalism and induction into the Maine Press Association Hall of Fame.

Mr. Dudman combined his journalistic professionalism with a spirit of serving others. In 2014, he and his wife, Helen, were presented with the Golden Eagle Award from the Boy Scouts of America for their commitment to community service, a quality that ran through their remarkable 69 years of marriage.

In this time of sorrow, I offer my deep condolences to Helen and their family. I hope they will find comfort in Richard’s inspiring legacy and in a life well-lived.

M-. President, it has been said that we all have a Birthdate and a Deathdate, with a dash in between. It’s what we do with our dash that counts.

Richard Dudman’s dash was extraordinarily long, and he made it count. He filled it with passion, professionalism, and dedication. May his memory inspire us all to do the same.