[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 143 (Wednesday, October 20, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H10514]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TRUE AMERICAN HEROS OF THE 109TH AIRLIFT WING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. McNulty) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, today Dr. Jerri Nielsen is in her home 
State of Ohio to receive treatment for breast cancer. In itself, this 
fact is not miraculous. But to think that just days ago she was 
stranded performing improvisational chemotherapy on herself at the 
South Pole, one could consider her rescue to be heaven sent.
  Doctor Nielsen's prayers were answered by the Air National Guard's 
109th Airlift Wing based in Glenville, New York, and I am proud to say, 
Mr. Speaker, in my district. The only guard unit trained to fly such a 
dangerous mission, the 109th skillfully landed the mammoth C-130 
Hercules cargo plane, a plane equipped with skis for landing gear on a 
runway of ice and temperatures of 58 degrees below zero completing an 
11,410 mile trip. The pilot, Major George McAllister, Jr., became the 
first person ever to land on a polar ice cap at this time of year.
  Mr. Speaker, Major McAllister and the crew of the 109th literally 
traveled to the end of the Earth, risking their own lives to save 
another, and I am sure that my colleagues as well as Dr. Nielsen and 
her family join me in recognizing and thanking these true American 
heroes.

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