[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 54 (Thursday, April 26, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E645-E646]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING WORLD WAR II VETERAN C.U. ``PEG'' O'NEILL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 26, 2001

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
pay tribute and give thanks to a Colorado resident who risked his life 
for our country in World War II. C.U. ``Peg'' O'Neill joined the U.S. 
Army in 1943. He became a C-47 pilot, and was stationed in England.
  Peg flew 11 missions into war-torn Europe. ``We could see the German 
antiaircraft fire coming straight at us,'' said Peg in an article from 
the Montrose Daily Press. ``We lost four planes out of our squadron of 
18 planes that night.'' Peg's first mission began in England on June 5, 
1944, were 1,000 C-47 cargo transports flew to the coast of France. The 
paratroopers mission on D-Day, was to disrupt German communications, 
secure bridges, and incite confusion, chaos and panic. This was a far 
cry from his days working at the Hartman Brothers Auto Dealership in 
Montrose.
  Peg participated in the battle for Nijmegen Bridge. During the famous 
mission for the ``bridge to far", Peg survived a mid-air collision with 
another allied plane trying to catch cover from anti-aircraft fire. 
``The Germans had opened the sea gates and had flooded the fields,'' 
said Peg of his first mission. ``I had 14 men from the 101st Airborne 
to drop. The lightest man weighed 258 pounds in full field gear. Some 
of them never got out of the swamps. They were drowned.''
  Peg returned to the dealership after the war with several medals, and 
most of all, his life

[[Page E646]]

and his health. Peg earned the Air Service Medal with seven bronze 
stars and the prestigious Presidential Citation, which was awarded to 
his squadron for its valor on the eve of D-Day.
  Mr. Speaker, men like Peg O'Neill deserve our thanks and praises for 
the life threatening situations they were in during World War II. Peg's 
story is only one of many stories from our World War II soldiers. We 
owe them our thanks now and in the future.

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