[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 100 (Wednesday, June 30, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN RECOGNITION OF FRANK KAPPELER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 30, 2010

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today along with my 
colleague, Lynn Woolsey, to honor and pay tribute to Frank Kappeler, 
one of eight surviving members of ``Doolittle's Raiders'' who passed 
away Wednesday, June 23, 2010, in Santa Rosa, California at the age of 
96.
  Lieutenant Colonel Kappeler was one of 79 U.S. Army Corps aviators 
who volunteered to fly the daring bombing mission over Japan four 
months after the surprise attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor.
  Sixteen B-25 bombers and the men aboard launched from an aircraft 
carrier in the Pacific on April 18, 1942, and headed for Japan, knowing 
that they did not have enough fuel to return and even if they could get 
back, the large bombers were not able to land on the American carriers.
  Lt. Col. Kappeler was the navigator on the No. 11 plane and was 
forced to bail out over China when the plane's engines stopped at 
11,000 feet. Chinese partisans helped Lt. Col. Kappeler and his crew 
mates escape capture by Japanese forces.
  He eventually escaped from China and spent the rest of WWII in the 
European theater, where he flew 53 combat missions.
  He retired from the Air Force in 1966 as a Lieutenant Colonel.
  The Doolittle Raid was a significant episode in the war in the 
Pacific because it demonstrated to both the American and Japanese 
people that Japan was not invincible and that American forces could and 
would strike the Japanese homeland.
  All of the planes participating in the raid were lost and 11 crewmen 
were killed or captured.
  Lt. Col Kappeler is survived by his wife of 53 years, Betty Kappeler, 
his daughter, Francia Kappeler, and three grandchildren, all of Santa 
Rosa, California.
  Madam Speaker, Lt. Col. Frank Kappeler is a true American hero who 
served his country with great distinction. It is therefore appropriate 
that we honor him today and send our condolences to his family.

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