[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 203 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 203

 Recognizing the late Bernt Balchen for his many contributions to the 
    United States and a lifetime of remarkable achievements on the 
               centenary of his birth, October 23, 1999.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 21, 1999

   Mr. Sabo submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing the late Bernt Balchen for his many contributions to the 
    United States and a lifetime of remarkable achievements on the 
               centenary of his birth, October 23, 1999.

Whereas Bernt Balchen, as co-pilot and navigator with Floyd Bennett and under 
        the sponsorship of Joseph Wanamaker, flew the Ford trimotor monoplane 
        ``Josephine Ford'' on a flying tour to more than 50 American cities in 
        1926, thereby promoting commercial aviation as a safe, reliable, and 
        practical means of transport;
Whereas in 1927 Bernt Balchen, piloting the first flight to carry United States 
        mail over the Atlantic Ocean, flew the aircraft ``America'' to France 
        under weather conditions so adverse that he was forced to set the 
        aircraft down in the surf off Normandy at night, a maneuver that he 
        executed so skillfully that he saved all on board the aircraft;
Whereas on November 29, 1929, Bernt Balchen, while participating in the first 
        expedition of Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd to Antarctica, became the 
        first pilot to fly a plane over the South Pole;
Whereas Bernt Balchen was indispensable to the success of various American 
        expeditions in Antarctica under the leadership of Admiral Byrd and 
        Lincoln Ellsworth;
Whereas Bernt Balchen, under secret conditions and in record time, was 
        responsible for building in Greenland in the autumn of 1941 the air base 
        Sondre Stromfjord, then known as ``Bluie West Eight'', that was used for 
        ferrying warplanes to Europe;
Whereas Bernt Balchen, as commander of ``Bluie West Eight'' between September 
        1941 and November 1943, provided his personnel with training in cold 
        weather survival skills and rescue techniques which enabled them to 
        carry out many spectacular rescues of downed airmen on the Greenland 
        icecap;
Whereas Bernt Balchen, on May 7, 1943, successfully led a bombing raid that 
        destroyed the sole German post in Greenland, a weather station and 
        antiaircraft battery on the east coast of Greenland, thereby hindering 
        the ability of the German armed forces to predict weather patterns in 
        the North Atlantic and Europe;
Whereas Bernt Balchen, between March and December 1944, commanded an air 
        transport operation that safely evacuated from Sweden at least 2,000 
        Norwegians, 900 American internees, and 150 internees of other 
        nationalities and transported strategic freight and numerous important 
        diplomats and Armed Forces officers;
Whereas Bernt Balchen, between July and October 1944, commanded a clandestine 
        air transport operation that transported 64 tons of operational supplies 
        from Scotland to occupied Norway in defiance of severe enemy opposition;
Whereas Bernt Balchen, between November 1944 and April 1945, commanded a 
        clandestine air transport operation that, again in defiance of severe 
        enemy opposition, transported from England to Sweden 200 tons of arctic 
        equipment and operational supplies that were used to make clandestine 
        overland transport from Sweden to Norway possible;
Whereas Bernt Balchen, during the winter of 1945, made  C-47 aircraft under his 
        command available to transport into northern Norway the communications 
        facilities that thereafter transmitted from Norway intelligence of 
        inestimable value to the Allied Expeditionary Force;
Whereas Bernt Balchen, as one of the founders of the Scandinavian Airlines 
        System, pioneered commercial airline flight over the North Pole, which 
        increased business development in Alaska and shortened the flying time 
        necessary for international flights between the United States and points 
        in Europe and Asia;
Whereas Bernt Balchen, from November 1948 to January 1951, commanded the 10th 
        Rescue Squadron of the United States Air Force, which was headquartered 
        in Alaska but ranged across the entire northern tier of North America 
        rescuing downed airmen, and led the squadron in the development of the 
        techniques that are now universally used in cold weather search and 
        rescue operations;
Whereas Bernt Balchen was the individual primarily responsible for the 
        pioneering and development of the strategic air base at Thule, 
        Greenland, which was built secretly in 1951 under severe weather 
        conditions and which, by extending the range of the Strategic Air 
        Command, increased the capabilities that made the Strategic Air Command 
        a significant deterrent to Soviet aggression during the Cold War;
Whereas Bernt Balchen, as Assistant for Arctic Activities in the Directorate of 
        Operations of the United States Air Force, rendered expert advice on the 
        development of concepts, procedures, and programs pertaining to the 
        Arctic that have been consistently utilized by other agencies in 
        planning Arctic projects and operations of national and international 
        interest;
Whereas Bernt Balchen served brilliantly as an officer in the United States Air 
        Force and contributed immeasurably to the mission of the Air Force and 
        the security of the United States;
Whereas the International Aviation Snow Symposium, of which Bernt Balchen was a 
        founder and honorary chairman, established in 1976 the Balchen Award 
        that is presented annually to recognize excellence in the performance of 
        airport snow and ice removal, is sought avidly by the managers of 
        airports of all categories in the United States and Canada, and has 
        successfully encouraged progressive improvement in cold weather airport 
        safety and air travel;
Whereas the United States Government has awarded Bernt Balchen the Byrd 
        Antarctic Expedition Congressional Medal, the Distinguished Service 
        Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Legion of Merit, the 
        Soldier's Medal, and the Air Medal, and other governments and societies 
        have awarded Bernt Balchen various other medals and awards in 
        recognition of his patriotism and remarkable achievement in aviation;
Whereas Bernt Balchen, a native of Norway who became a citizen of the United 
        States on November 5, 1931, before a Federal judge in Hackensack, New 
        Jersey, and entered the military service of the United States in the 
        United States Army Air Corps on September 5, 1941, at all times 
        furthered the cordial relationship between the United States of America 
        and the Kingdom of Norway, one of America's most-cherished allies;
Whereas Bernt Balchen was buried with full military honors at Arlington National 
        Cemetery on October 23, 1973; and
Whereas October 23, 1999, is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bernt Balchen 
        and is being observed as such in many commemorative events taking place 
        in the United States and Norway: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the late Bernt Balchen is hereby recognized for his extraordinary 
service to the United States, including the national security.
    Sec. 2. The Clerk of the House of Representatives shall transmit an 
enrolled copy of this concurrent resolution to the family of Bernt 
Balchen.
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