Beau Biden: America Has Lost a Great Man

The most honorable thing a writer can do these days is simply to report the truth as best as he or she can, trying to tell something that you know personally because you have experienced it. I realize that as an Exeter, New Hampshire resident, as an attorney, and as an American, I am a privileged person. And because of the privileges I have had in my life, I come to this story of the recent, heartbreaking death of Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Beau Biden, from a personal angle.

It goes against my nature to tell personal information, but I feel that I must share just a little bit, because with the death of Beau Biden, who was the son of a Vice President of the United States, and who was himself the Attorney General of Delaware, I don’t feel that enough is known in the general public about how truly great a loss we have all suffered. He was 46.

I met Beau Biden in 1995, having had the opportunity to work as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, in Concord, first for the late Hon. Shane Devine, and in 1995 as a temporary clerk for the Hon. Joseph A. DiClerico, Jr., two great individuals, public servants of great devotion to the honor of public service. When I met Beau, he was working at the U.S. District Court as a law clerk for another great man, the Hon. Steven J. McAuliffe, whose wife gave her life in service to this country as an astronaut and educator, a pioneer in space.

What you should know about Beau Biden, that I can tell you firsthand, is that Beau had the Biden charm, the Biden humor, the Biden wit, and the Biden devotion to public service. But he also had more than all that. Beau Biden was destined to be an even greater man in public life than his father, our Vice President, because Beau Biden had Joe Biden as a father.

It was clear to all of us working as law clerks in the federal court in Concord that Beau was preparing himself to assume a role of great responsibility in his life. It was clear to me that Beau Biden must have been deeply aware of that impending responsibility, because it was staring him in the face every time he looked in a mirror. Beau Biden was the image of his great father in every way: he looked like Joe Biden, he was kind, he was soft spoken, he cared deeply about people. Beau Biden had that warm smile that could light up a room in an instant. When you spoke with Beau Biden you felt that you were being connected to the greatness that lies deep in the soul of the Biden family, because you were.

During the 2007-2008 presidential campaign, I met up with Beau Biden again at the Stratham Fair, in the neighboring town of Stratham, New Hampshire, where he was making an appearance for his father who was running for President of the United States. That was a great time because I got a chance to introduce my family to him, and it was clear at that point that Beau Biden was going places. He was no longer the recent graduate of law school, Beau was now clearly on his way up the political ladder, having been elected Attorney General of Delaware. I could see that he was an older person, a stronger person, a person with greater responsibilities, but I could also see that he really did have that Biden magic as well. But beyond all that, you could see that this was a man who not only had great opportunities in life, but he also had great gifts. Beau Biden was a totally superior leader as an Attorney General. He cared deeply about what he was doing, and he knew what to do to make life better for the people of Delaware.

Joe Biden has a gift of communication that comes from being able to speak softly, near to the point of a whisper, and then to reach inside the hearts of his audience, to touch them deeply and also to lead others to do great things. Beau Biden had this kind of gift, but as the son of an experienced U.S. Senator who had always been considered a potential U.S. President, Beau Biden had something more, he had greater knowledge of where life might lead him. He had to know that one day he himself might become the President of the United States, and his life was a preparation for that.
But that knowledge of his own great destiny did not stop Beau Biden from having the common touch, the ability and the desire to reach out to people, to take over their concerns and difficulties, and to help our society with every resource at his disposal.

I will leave you with the closing thought that it is a key part of the story of Beau Biden to note that he chose to serve our country in the most difficult capacity that exists: by joining the military and participating in the defense of our nation in Iraq. As the son of Joe Biden, Beau Biden certainly did not have to place himself in such a dangerous position. But he did. Beau demonstrated by his personal commitment the honor of military service, and his life reminds us of the great debt of gratitude we owe to all who serve.