[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 56 (Friday, March 30, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E718]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        SALUTE TO HAROLD GAULDEN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MARK E. SOUDER

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 29, 2007

  Mr. SOUDER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to salute my constituent, 
Harold Gaulden, a former military police officer of the Tuskegee 
Airmen's fire and rescue squad. Mr. Gaulden has come to Washington, DC 
today as one of six Tuskegee Airmen receiving the Congressional Gold 
Medal on behalf of the corps' surviving pilots and support personnel. 
The reward recognizes their heroism during World War II in facing the 
twin battles of the onslaught of the enemy abroad and the blight of 
racism at home.
  The Tuskegee Airmen were created by the Army in 1941 as part of an 
Army Air Corps program to train Black Americans as military pilots, and 
comprised nearly 1,000 pilots and 10,000 support staff. These men were 
the first Black pilots in the American military, and Harold Gaulden, 
originally from Louisiana but now a Hoosier in my district, spent a 
year at the Tuskegee airbase in Alabama valiantly and diligently 
helping defend our Nation. Mr. Gaulden remembers such indignities as 
being able to buy a Coke at the base's PX but being forced to drink it 
outside. Mr. Gaulden saw segregated mess hall lines at the base--one 
for White soldiers and German prisoners of war, and another for the 
Black soldiers. Harold has been an energetic airmen activist for 20 
years, speaking to colleges, elementary schools, and community groups 
about what he and his airmen brethren endured for our country.
  The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian award that 
Congress can bestow upon its recipients, and I was proud to cosponsor 
the legislation in the 109th Congress that authorizes this award. I am 
pleased to see Harold being honored today for his service to our 
country. Although Harold has said he would gladly fight for his 
country, medal or not, bravery such as this should not go 
unrecognized--it is what has made, and continues to make, the United 
States of America the best nation on earth.

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