[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 7 (Tuesday, February 5, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H125]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING COLONEL FRANCIS GABRESKI

  (Mr. GRUCCI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GRUCCI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of 
Colonel Francis ``Gabby'' Gabreski, our Nation's highest-ranking 
fighter ace, who passed away Thursday, January 31.
  Gabby Gabreski amassed 28 downed German aircraft in World War II and 
6.5 enemy MiG fighters in the Korean War, becoming America's greatest 
living ace.
  Gabreski graduated in 1941 from Knoxville Army Air Field as a second 
lieutenant and was assigned to the 45th Fighter Squadron in Hawaii 
where he witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor.
  In June of 1944, Gabreski led his squadron in a long fighter sweep 
over the beaches of Normandy. Three weeks later he surpassed Eddie 
Rickenbacker's World War I record and on July 5 scored his 28th victory 
after 193 missions, making him America's leading ace, earning him a 
leave back to the United States.
  After pleading with his superiors to forgo his leave and fly just one 
more final mission, Gabreski was shot down over Europe. He spent the 
final 8 months as a POW.
  Gabreski once again took the skies during the Korean War as commander 
of the 51st Fighter Wing where he helped develop tactics for jet 
fighters.
  He retired from the Air Force as a colonel in 1967 and spent the next 
20 years working in the aviation industry. Gabreski was inducted into 
the National Aviation Hall of Fame and later served as the president of 
the Long Island Railroad system.
  I am proud that the home of the Air National Guards' 106th Rescue 
Wing in my congressional district bears his name.
  Mr. Speaker, today I rise and ask my colleagues to join me in 
honoring a true American hero, Colonel Francis ``Gabby'' Gabreski.

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