[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 55 (Wednesday, April 1, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E841-E842]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           TRIBUTE TO THE DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS SOCIETY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN CALVERT

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 1, 2009

  Mr. CALVERT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to 
a group of individuals whose dedication and contributions to the 
military community of Riverside, California are exceptional. Riverside 
has been fortunate to have dynamic and dedicated military community 
leaders who willingly and unselfishly give their time and talent and 
make their communities a better place to live and work. The 
Distinguished Flying Cross Society (DFCS) is such a group and I 
wholeheartedly support their efforts to build a National Distinguished 
Flying Cross Memorial at the March Field Air Museum (MFAM). This 
monument will ``perpetuate the memory of those persons who have been 
and those who will receive the Distinguished Flying Cross.''
  I am honored to represent Air Force Village West (AFVW), a 
``Continuing Care Retirement community'' (CCRC) that is home to and 
also provides medical care for over 680 retired military officers, 
their wives and widows. All the Services are represented among the 
residents: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Public Health 
Service and NOAA.

[[Page E842]]

Eighty residents of the Village, who were flyers in their active duty 
days, organized the Inland Empire Chapter of the Distinguished Flying 
Cross Society which is the primary sponsor of the memorial. These 
members were awarded this prestigious medal under the Act which 
provided the award ``to any person while serving in any capacity with 
the Air Corps of the Army of the United States, including the National 
Guard and the Organized Reserves, or with the United States Navy since 
the 6th day of April 1917 has distinguished, or who, after the approval 
of this Act, distinguishes himself by heroism or extraordinary 
achievement while participating in aerial flight.'' Among recipients 
are the 1st recipient of the medal Captain Charles L. Lindbergh, former 
President George H. W. Bush, former South Dakota Governor Joe Foss, 
Brig Gen. Jimmy Doolittle and the founder/organizer of the Air Force 
Village West retirement home, General Curtis Le May.
  The memorial is a cooperative effort between the Air Force Village 
West Chapter, the March Field Air Museum, and the new DFCS Chapter. 
MFAM is located at March Air Reserve Base (MARB) which hosts the C-17As 
of the 792nd Air Mobility Wing (AMW) in addition to KC-135s, and C-
130s. The Air National Guard also has a detachment of F-16s. The 
Memorial will be available to thousands of visitors each year and while 
viewing the static display at MFAM, visitors will be frequently treated 
to an operational air unit providing support to our troops in Iraq. 
Every year, MFAM has a front row seat to the MARB air show, which 
frequently features the Air Force Thunderbirds. It is a fitting place 
to honor the many aviators who have distinguished themselves by deeds 
performed in aerial flight. The monument will be topped by a model of 
the Loening OA-1A amphibian aircraft, which was flown on the Pan-
American Goodwill Flight of 1926. The ten aviators who flew this 
mission were the first recipients of the Distinguished Flying 
Certificate from President Calvin Coolidge.
  Madam Speaker, it is truly an honor to represent Air Force Village 
West, the Distinguished Flying Cross Society and to lend my support to 
the efforts to build a National Distinguished Flying Cross Memorial at 
the March Field Air Museum.

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