[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 57 (Thursday, April 19, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E583]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             75TH ANNIVERSARY OF PRINCE WILLIAM FOREST PARK

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                         HON. ROBERT J. WITTMAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 19, 2012

  Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the 75th Anniversary of 
Prince William Forest Park. Located in southern Prince William County, 
Virginia, Prince William Forest Park is a natural oasis just outside 
Washington D.C.
  Established in 1936, Chopawamsic Recreational Demonstration Area 
(RDA) was constructed as a Great Depression area federal relief 
program. Recreational Demonstration Areas were built across the 
country, largely near urban areas to combat unemployment and to provide 
recreational opportunities for poverty stricken urban poor. Work on the 
park also provided employment. Depression era job programs, including 
the Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration 
contributed the labor to build the parks roads, cabins, lakes and other 
facilities. For decades, Chopawamsic RDA provided outdoor recreational 
and education opportunities to the urban youth of our nation's capital.
  Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, and the United States 
entrance into the war, Chopawamsic RDA served as training grounds for 
covert operatives of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). A 
precursor to today's Central Intelligence Service, OSS was a highly 
secretive wartime agency that waged covert activates behind enemy lines 
during World War II. Chopawamsic's forests and cabin infrastructure 
located in a rural area just an hour from Washington, D.C. provided an 
ideal location to train spies for the war effort.
  After the War, the Park was renamed Prince William Forest Park in 
1948. Today, the Park provides miles of hiking and biking trails, 
camping, picnic spots and many programs for school aged children. 
Prince William Forest Park is truly one of the special natural 
resources in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
  I encourage my colleagues to join with me in commemorating Prince 
William Forest Park's 75th Anniversary.

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