[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 86 (Friday, May 23, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1088]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO U-2 PILOTS

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                         HON. CIRO D. RODRIGUEZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 22, 2008

  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the heroic feats 
and commendable military service of 11 U-2 pilots of the 4080th 
Strategic Reconnaissance Wing. Based out of Laughlin Air Force Base in 
Del Rio, Texas, these men weathered great danger in flying critical 
surveillance missions over the Caribbean during the height of the Cold 
War.
  On October 14, 1962, their efforts provided the first convincing 
evidence that Soviet medium range ballistic missiles were present in 
Cuba; and thanks to their courage, our country was able to recognize 
and navigate one of the greatest national security threats of the 20th 
century, the Cuban Missile Crisis. At great personal risk, the unit 
exposed some of the deepest and darkest secrets of our country's 
adversaries.
  Named ``Operation Brass Knob'', this distinguished group of pilots 
ventured over Cuban airspace armed only with cameras. Declassified 
documents and the pilots' personal accounts reveal that each was 
engaged by the enemy; indeed, on the 27th U-2 flight over Cuba, and 
during the pinnacle of the crisis, Major Rudolf Anderson Jr. was shot 
down and killed by a strategic air missile. Nevertheless, the 
intelligence photographs these pilots compiled gave President Kennedy 
the information needed to initiate a naval blockade of Cuba and 
ultimately dissuade the Soviet Union.
  On November 26, 1962, President Kennedy awarded the 4080th Strategic 
Reconnaissance Wing with the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. Kennedy 
nobly remarked, ``The work of this unit has contributed as much to the 
security of the United States as any unit in our history, and any group 
of men in our history!''
  While President Kennedy's decisionmaking during the Cuban Missile 
crisis is properly designated as lore, the 11 U-2 pilots have spent the 
past 45 years in relatively humble obscurity. Because of the 
sensitivity of their mission, most of these men were denied the public 
praise and recognition warranted by their mission.
  And so today I applaud the Val Verde Historical Commission for its 
decision to honor these men by placing a commemorative historical 
marker in Del Rio, TX, on behalf of the 11 pilots of Operation Brass 
Knob: Majors Rudolf Anderson Jr., Buddy L. Brown, Edwin G. Emerling, 
Richard S. Heyser, James A. Qualls, and Captains George M. Bull, Roger 
H. Herman, Charles W. Kern, Gerald E. Mcllmoyle, Robert L. Primrose, 
and Daniel W. Schmarr. A ceremony will take place May 23, 2008, and 
five of the six surviving pilots will be in attendance.
  As we approach Memorial Day, let us pause, reflect, and give thanks 
for the efforts of our men in uniform, both those whose efforts will be 
infamous and those whose service will be unheralded by the public at 
large. I am proud to represent the district from which the men of 
Operation Brass Knob staged their valiant flights, and I wish to 
congratulate them on their upcoming recognition.

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