[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 27, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1841-E1842]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  IN HONOR OF BARBARA ERICKSON LONDON

                                 ______


                         HON. NORMAN Y. MINETA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 27, 1995

  Mr. MINETA. Mr. Speaker, 3 weeks ago, a remarkable woman stood on the 
deck of the U.S.S. Missouri in Bremerton, WA. Our colleagues will 
recall that it was on the deck of that ship in 1945 that the Empire of 
Japan formally surrendered to the United States and our allies, thereby 
ending the Second World War.
  Fifty years later, on September 2, 1995, that ship and that occasion 
was marked and honored with the presence of Barbara Erickson London, 
the only Women's Army Service pilot to receive the prestigious Air 
Medal during the Second World War.
  Born in the Pacific Northwest and now a resident of Long Beach, CA, 
Barbara Erickson London entered the Civilian Pilot Training Program 
while a student at the University of Washington. She was 1 of 4 women 
in a class of 40, and quickly proved herself to be a natural aviator. 
So it was no surprise that by 1942, with the Nation at war, she would 
join the Women's Auxiliary Ferry Squadron at Wilmington, DE.
  Barbara Erickson London's technical skills and leadership talents 
were soon recognized, and she was named squadron commander of the 6th 
Ferry Group. At age 23, she organized and trained a cohesive group of 
80 women to fly P-51 Mustangs, P-38 Lightnings, C-54 Skymasters, B-25 
Mitchells, and B-17 Flying Fortresses from their Long Beach Airport 
base 

[[Page E 1842]]
to their delivery destinations. ``We were badly needed and sometimes 
flew two and three planes in a day,'' she recently remembered to the 
Long Beach Press Telegram.
  By 1943, Major London and the other ferry pilots were pushed to their 
limits in response to Allied demands for more planes in Europe. She 
made four 2,000-mile trips delivering P-47, P-51 and C-47 aircraft in 
less than a week. This particular effort, combined with her 
distinguished service, was cited when she was awarded the Air Medal by 
General ``Hap'' Arnold, commanding general of the U.S. Army Air Force.
  Married to Jack London, Jr. after the war, she raised two daughters, 
Terry and Kristy, each becoming pilots in their own right, and all 
three women continuing to make contributions to American aviation.
  Mr. Speaker, the story of Barbara Erickson London is one of many 
stories of American heroism during the Second World War. But her story 
is especially notable for her achievement and for her groundbreaking 
role as a woman in our armed services.
  On July 28 of this year, 60 of the women fliers, including Barbara 
Erickson London, were reunited in Long Beach as part of the Freedom 
Flight America celebration of the war's end. That cross-country armada 
of vintage military aircraft was designed as an event never to be 
repeated so to honor the courage and sacrifices made 50 and more years 
ago.
  Mr. Speaker, Barbara Erickson London was one of those Americans who 
helped us to win that global conflict 50 years ago. I ask you and our 
colleagues to join with me in saluting her on this anniversary of war's 
end, and to wish her and her family the continued appreciation of a 
grateful Nation.

                          ____________________