[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 68 (Wednesday, May 12, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5185-S5186]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               IN MEMORY OF LT. WILFRID ``BILL'' DESILETS

 Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, I rise to pay 
tribute to Lt. Wilfrid Desilets, a U.S. Army Air Corps P-47 pilot from 
Worcester, Massachusetts who was lost over New Guinea on August 18, 
1943. His remains were recently located and identified, and I was 
privileged and deeply honored to assist his family--including one of 
his sisters, Therese Auger of Portsmouth, New Hampshire--with efforts 
to bring this case to resolution. I was also proud to attend the 
military funeral for Lt. Desilets this past weekend and to present the 
Flag of the United States to the surviving family members. Lt. Desilets 
was an American hero and a patriot who loved his country, loved his 
family, and loved to fly. He made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause 
of freedom during the Second World War, and I am pleased to have this 
opportunity to recognize his unselfish service to his country.
  But no words of mine can match the moving eulogy delivered by 
Therese's husband, Lt. Col. Elvin C. Auger, USAF-ret. Mr. President, I 
therefore ask that a copy of the eulogy, as delivered by Colonel Auger, 
appear in the Record.
  The eulogy is as follows:

   Flight Officer Wilfrid Desilets: Eulogy by Lt. Col. Ret. Elvin C. 
                           Auger, May 8, 1999

       I would like to welcome all of you here today, a day this 
     family has waited so long for.
       I want to begin by thanking you, Senator Smith, for all the 
     assistance you have given this family. Senator Bob Smith is 
     from New Hampshire. He's my Senator. We thank you for being 
     here today.
       I have written this eulogy with the hope that all of you 
     but especially our sons, daughters, and now our grand-
     children will get to know the Bill that we knew.
       I would like to start by saying that I did know Bill and 
     his family before he left for the service and I am proud to 
     say that I have been a member of this family for 55 years.
       Now Bill grew up in this family with both loving and caring 
     parents. He was the only boy with 7 sisters. To put it mildly 
     these 7 sisters simply adored him, or as my wife would say 
     today, ``Bill was simply the best''. Bill was a very handsome 
     young man, very religious, started many a day in the service 
     by going to early Mass. He was a good athlete, loved sports 
     and played most all of them.
       Now I'm not sure where Bill was on that Sunday, Pearl 
     Harbor Day, but I can tell you for sure where he was very 
     early the next morning. He, with a very good buddy called Kip 
     would be at the Army Recruiting Office to volunteer and 
     serve. Both men knew exactly what they wanted. Bill had to be 
     a pilot and Kip wanted to be a gunner. Hopefully that day 
     they thought Bill's gunner. Incidentally that young man Kip 
     was not only Bills good buddy, he was my big brother.
       Now Bill was so good at writing letters home that to read 
     them today is like reading a diary of his military career. In 
     fact the first days in the service when he was issued his 
     uniforms he would write, today I am a soldier.
       Now Bill was off to basic training and as he completed it 
     he would be devastated for the Army was sending him to radio 
     operator school not pilot training. Though you know his heart 
     was broken he would write, at least I'll be flying on a crew. 
     Bill did go and complete radio school but then someone 
     somewhere would decide that this young man should be given 
     a chance for pilot training. Now you can imagine how high 
     the morale would be and how his letters home would sound.
       Now Bill was off for the pilot training program, preflight 
     primary flying school, basic flying school, and then advance. 
     Now advance being the final phase would terminate with Bill's 
     graduation. We were all so proud of Bill for he was going to 
     be an Army Air Corps pilot.
       Two of Bill's very pretty younger sisters would go to 
     Florida to be with him. They would be there the night before 
     graduation to attend the squadron dance with Bill and his 
     buddies and be there the following day with him for the 
     ceremonies to pin the bars and coveted silver wings on Bill. 
     I know for sure how very proud Bill felt that day, not only 
     for completing his pilot traing but also for having those two 
     sisters there with him. I know for sure how he felt for in a 
     couple of years later one of those sisters would be my wife 
     and be there with me at my graduation to pin my wings on.
       Now Bill must have finished high in his class for his first 
     assignment would be to the 342 Fighter Squadron. Here he 
     would be flying the P47 Thunderbolt. At that time it was one 
     of our most modern and powerful fighter aircraft we had. Now 
     what was even nicer, Bill would do his transition flying at 
     the old Bedford Airport just 50 miles from home. This would 
     be the happiest time for Bill and his family for when Bill 
     had a little time off we could drive down and bring him home 
     for visits. He was also close enough that on some of his 
     local flights he might do just a little buzzing. What a 
     thrill it was for me to see Bill and his fighter come 
     screaming in low and pull up and away. At that time I would 
     soon be old enough to join and I made up my mind that I had 
     to be a pilot like Bill.
       It was a also at this time that Bill would marry his 
     sweetheart Ann. Two short days after the wedding Bill and his 
     squadron would have their orders and be on their way 
     overseas. At the time it seemed like the cruelest, harshest 
     thing that could happen. And it was, but now when I think 
     back I would like to believe that at least Bill had some

[[Page S5186]]

     days of great happiness and he left knowing that his bride 
     Ann would be here waiting for him to come home. How these had 
     to be wonderful thoughts and memories for Bill to take with 
     him.
       Now during the war the boys could not tell us where they 
     were stationed overseas but Bill did write he had seen his 
     first Kangaroo. Years later reading a book on Australian 
     airfields during the war I would read where Bill and his 
     squadron with their aircraft would come to Australia by 
     ships. Here the aircraft would be offloaded, reassembled, 
     test flown and on to New Guinea.
       Now in New Guinea in about one month Bill would fly his 
     last mission. It was a big one. 16 of those fighters were in 
     that formation. They were flying a protective cover for some 
     air transports. That flight would enter into a box canyon 
     where the mountains went up to 10 and 12 thousand feet. The 
     weather deteriorated so badly that the flight could not turn 
     and exit that canyon. The pilots all had to break their 
     formation and climb blindly up through the clouds. Bill never 
     came up. In the days that followed, his good buddy then Capt. 
     Roddy would fly search missions over that area but the jungle 
     was not ready to give up its secret.
       Now I was with the family that Sunday evening when the 
     notice of a telegram came. You can imagine the thoughts, the 
     fear, and the prayers that went through that family that long 
     night for a war time telegram was most always bad news. Very 
     early the next morning I drove Bill's dad to get that 
     telegram. I will never forget the look on his face and what 
     he said as he came back to the car.
       He said, ``It's Bill, it's Bill, he is missing in action. 
     This will kill my wife.'' We had to take this news back home. 
     I can still see Mom and all the sisters on the back porch as 
     we drove in the yard. I guess they knew by his face that it 
     was bad news. All that poor man could do was to keep trying 
     to tell them that Bill was not dead, Bill was not dead, Bill 
     was missing in action.
       Two years later the second telegram came. Bill was presumed 
     dead.
       In the years that followed we lost Dad, Mom, and a sister, 
     Jean. I can assure you that their thoughts, their hopes and 
     their prayers were that someday Bill would be coming home.
       Many, many years later while reading a book of the air wars 
     in New Guinea, I would read in this book that Flight Officer 
     Wilfrid Desilets was lost in the jungles of New Guinea 
     forever. That's the way it remained for 53 long years. Then 
     into our lives came the most amazing young man that I have 
     ever had the opportunity to meet and call a friend. He is a 
     successful businessman, a great writer, a fellow pilot but 
     most of all he was an adventurer and a man with a quest. This 
     man's quest was to find an aircraft that a great uncle had 
     been lost in during this war. The uncle's body had been 
     recovered some 14 years later. This man knows well what a 
     family goes through. On his second trip to New Guinea high up 
     in the mountains and deep in the jungle, he, with the 
     natives, would find Bill and his aircraft. Now he notified 
     the proper authorities and he knew that they could take years 
     to make a recovery identification, and then notify a family. 
     And he so rightfully thought that if Bill still had a family 
     that they would be aging and should know. So upon his return 
     he learned that Bill was probably from the Worcester area so 
     he, with his secretary Arlean, started a massive telephone 
     search for the surname Desilets. They were finally successful 
     and notified Yvette, one of the sisters. Now when we first 
     heard what this stranger said he had done it was 
     unbelievable, but we learned he had done it.
       Now as all of you might well expect there are not adequate 
     words to express the feelings that this family has for this 
     man, the gratitude, the great respect, yes the love we feel 
     for this man. so for today I am simply going to say thank 
     you. Yes, thank you Fred Hagen, for without you we would 
     never have had our day today. I guess Fred it is your day too 
     for I have the feeling that you have adopted this family and 
     I know we have adopted you.
       We have met and made such wonderful new friends during this 
     time. We have with us Colonel Roddy and a Colonel Benz, two 
     men, fighter pilots who were in that flight with Bill on his 
     last mission. You can imagine the honor it was for me to meet 
     these men and talk and learn of Bill's last mission. We were 
     recently invited to Bill's fighter squadron reunion. We went 
     there as guests and came home honored members. We heard such 
     wonderful stories and memories of Bill. One I would like to 
     share with you today. It is from a letter that a Sergeant 
     Iddings had written to Colonel Roddy when he learned Bill had 
     been found. In his letter he expressed the great sorrow that 
     the maintenance and ground support boys felt when Bill was 
     missing. He also said that in his mind Bill's tombstone 
     should be engraved with a blue ribbon and on it, it should 
     say that Bill was a blue ribbon gentleman and a blue ribbon 
     pilot. How I wish the Sergeant was with us today that we may 
     thank him but he to passed away last year.
       To you sisters if I may. We have lived with this tragedy 
     most all of our lives. Now that we have what some may call 
     closure I would hope that when you think of Bill or look at 
     his pictures maybe your hearts may be just a little lighter 
     and remember too Bill will always remain that handsome young 
     man. He will never grow old as we have. I know too that each 
     of you have your own special memories of growing up with 
     Bill. Cherish them for they are yours forever.
       I, for one, will always honor Bill for he was the type of 
     young man who, as his country was going to war, would be 
     among the first to volunteer and serve.
       Bill was my hero for as a young man watching him fly his 
     fighter made me want to be a pilot like him.
       Now if we had to lose Bill during this war, then I am 
     grateful that it would be while Bill was fulfilling his 
     greatest dream, for Bill was a fighter pilot.
       Today from here, Bill will be taken to rest with his Mom 
     and Dad. Bill is no longer lost in that jungle. Bill is now 
     home, home with his family truly forever.

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