IN MEMORIAM

Senator Mike R. Gravel AP’49, HD’69 1930–2021

Mike Gravel, 91, a former U.S. senator from Alaska perhaps best known for reading the Pentagon Papers into the Congressional Record in 1971 as a one-man filibuster to protest the Vietnam War, passed away on June 26, 2021.

Born in Springfield to French Canadian immigrants from Quebec, Gravel attended a French-speaking Catholic grade school before enrolling at Assumption Prep and subsequently spending his first year of college at Assumption.

In 1951, Gravel enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he served in Germany and France until 1954. Upon his return to the U.S.,

Gravel completed his bachelor’s degree in economics at Columbia University before moving to Alaska with aspirations of a career in public service.

After several years working in Alaska state government, Gravel was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1968, where he would represent his adopted state until 1981. During his time in the Senate, Gravel helped expand Alaska’s educational system and brought awareness to the state’s Native community. His committee assignments included finance, interior, environment, and public works, and he chaired a number of subcommittees related to environmental issues. He received an honorary degree from Assumption in 1969 and served as an honorary member of the Assumption Board of Trustees.

After a sabbatical from electoral politics for nearly a decade, Gravel moved to California where he established two nonprofit corporations dedicated to promoting democracy. In 2006, at the age of 76, Gravel filed his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election, and later for the 2020 presidential election.

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