[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 105 (Thursday, July 15, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1332]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  THANKING SUSAN (SMITH) RODRIGUEZ FOR HER SERVICE DURING WORLD WAR II

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                        HON. TODD RUSSELL PLATTS

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 15, 2010

  Mr. PLATTS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements 
of Susan (Smith) Rodriguez of Bethesda, Maryland, who in 1944 answered 
her Nation's call to service in a time of great need. Mrs. Rodriguez 
joins a special sisterhood of women who share a unique place in 
American history.
  Mrs. Rodriguez was born in York, Pennsylvania, in my congressional 
district, where she later worked as a French teacher at the former York 
Collegiate Institute (now known as York College of Pennsylvania). To 
help in the war effort, she received her commercial pilot's rating and 
gave flight instruction to U.S. Army pilots throughout the spring of 
1944.
  Mrs. Rodriguez was later assigned to the Office of Strategic 
Services, America's first intelligence agency, where she was posted to 
Tangier, North Africa and served until the end of the war. Similar to 
the Women Airforce Service Pilots, whom earlier this year were 
rightfully awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for their service 
during World War II, Mrs. Rodriguez helped blaze a trail for women who 
seek to serve their country. The achievements of Mrs. Rodriguez and 
other female pioneers continue to inspire generations of young women to 
achieve the impossible.
  On behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I thank Mrs. 
Rodriguez for her service to the United States of America. I know that 
her family and friends join me in paying tribute to her.

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