[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 125 (Thursday, September 16, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO GALEN WILEY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LATHAM

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 16, 2010

  Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Galen Wiley, a World 
War II Army Air Corps veteran from Boone County, Iowa, and to express 
my appreciation for his dedication and commitment to his country.
  The Boone News Republican is currently running a series of articles 
that honors one Boone County veteran every Tuesday from Memorial Day to 
Veterans Day. Galen Wiley was recognized on Tuesday, July 27. Below is 
the article in its entirety:

                   Boone County Veterans: Galen Wiley

                        (By Alexander Hutchins)

       Galen Wiley, 93, nurtured a passion for flight in his time 
     in the Army Air Corps. It would help shape the rest of his 
     life and give him a pursuit that would eventually include an 
     airport bearing his name.
       Wiley grew up on a farm near Jordan, Iowa and attended 
     school in a building that is no longer standing. Wiley's 
     father died when he was eleven, facilitating the family's 
     move to Boone. Wiley has spent the rest of his life in the 
     community.
       Wiley was a paperboy in his youth. He graduated from Boone 
     High School and worked as a salesman in the J.C. Penny's and 
     J.C. Peterson stores, where he was employed when he was 
     inducted into the army.
       Wiley entered the Army Air Corp and was originally placed 
     in mechanic school. He soon opted for an officer training 
     program, however, and took whole-heartedly to the training. 
     Wiley was sent to England to fly a B-17 bomber, and he flew 
     bombing runs over France, Holland, and Germany during his 
     time in the service. Wiley's B-17 once suffered an equipment 
     failure while flying over Holland, but he managed to land the 
     plane with the left landing gear jammed. It was a harrowing 
     experience, but the crew would survive and celebrate Wiley's 
     achievement. ``I came out okay on it,'' Wiley said with a 
     smile.
       Wiley once flew a mission on which he saw the plane of a 
     fellow Boone pilot, David Mondt.
       Wiley flew many of his missions with English pilots, and 
     went into London several times during the war. ``We flew an 
     awful lot, day after day,'' Wiley said of routine life in the 
     Air Corps. The King of England and (at that time) Princess 
     Elizabeth once visited the air base where Wiley was 
     stationed.
       Upon returning from the war in 1946, Wiley and his wife 
     Marian were wed. Wiley was hired as a treasurer at city hall 
     and soon promoted to a city clerk. He also joined the 
     National Guard, and greatly enjoyed the chance to fly again. 
     Wiley split much of his attention between his job with the 
     city and the airport, and drafted the original paperwork to 
     create the airport after the war. For many years Wiley served 
     on the airport commission, even after his retirement from 
     city hall, until resigning on his 90th birthday. On his 91st 
     birthday, the airport commission renamed the airport `Galen 
     Wiley Field' in honor of Wiley's dedication to the airport 
     through the years. He has also been presented with a display 
     of his service medals that friends from the airport crafted 
     for him.
       Wiley served in the National Guard for 31 years after the 
     war, and was able to fly on some weekends as part of his 
     guard duty. He still enjoys going to the airport to watch the 
     planes take off and land, maintaining his passion for flight.
       Wiley's son Bill died in a car accident when he was 23, but 
     the family has persevered. Shirley Wiley, Galen's daughter 
     and a retired nurse, lives in Boone to this day and assisted 
     with this article.
       Wiley still stays in contact with the other three surviving 
     members of his crew. Two of his crewmates live in California 
     and one lives in Texas. The men still call and stay in touch, 
     and have met up for reunions in the past.

  I commend Galen Wiley for his many years of loyalty and service to 
our great nation. It is an immense honor to represent him in the United 
States Congress, and I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

                          ____________________