Clinton Remembers Pal, Ron Brown

Recalling the little things he misses about Ron Brown, President Clinton paid tribute Thursday to the late commerce secretary and those who perished with him on a Croatian mountainside a year ago.

“It’s springtime, and I can’t go play golf with Ron Brown. We will never shoot baskets again,” Clinton said during a memorial service on the first anniversary of Brown’s death.

“Once the moment of tragedy passes, the little things become so important,” Clinton said. “So we gather here today, going on and in celebration but clearly not free of sadness.”

Brown was leading a trade mission in the former Yugoslavia on April 3, 1996, when his Air Force plane crashed into a mountainside, killing all 35 people aboard. The delegation included people from many walks of life: business executives, government workers, military personnel, Croatian translators, a journalist.

And Brown, a key political ally who, as Democratic Party chairman, engineered Clinton’s 1992 election. At Brown’s funeral, Clinton credited him with the victory.

If Brown were still alive, Clinton said, he certainly would be teasing him relentlessly about the knee injury he suffered at golfer Greg Norman’s home. “He’s not here making fun of me because I had that stupid accident with my leg,” Clinton said, “and I miss that.”

Clinton was joined by Vice President Al Gore, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, Tipper Gore, Commerce Secretary Richard Daley and Defense Secretary William Cohen. Brown’s immediate replacement, Mickey Kantor, was seated in the audience.

Seated on the end of the front row were Brown’s widow, Alma, daughter Tracey, son Michael and daughter-in-law Tammi.