[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 66 (Thursday, May 10, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3071-S3073]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AWARDING A CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL TO MEMBERS OF THE CIVIL AIR PATROL
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Banking
Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 418 and the
Senate proceed to its consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the bill by title.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 418) to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the
World War II members of the Civil Air Patrol.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be
read the third time and passed; that the motion to reconsider be laid
upon the table, with no intervening action or debate; and that any
statements related to the bill be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The bill (S. 418) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading,
was read the third time, and passed, as follows:
S. 418
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The volunteer members of the Civil Air Patrol
(hereafter in this Act referred to as the ``CAP'') during
World War II, civilian men and women ranging in age from 18
to 81, provided extraordinary public and combat services
during a critical time of need for the Nation.
(2) During the war, CAP members used their own aircraft to
perform a myriad of essential tasks for the military and the
Nation within the United States, including attacks on enemy
submarines off the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the
United States.
(3) This extraordinary service set the stage for the post-
war CAP to become a valuable nonprofit, public service
organization chartered by Congress and the Auxiliary of the
United States Air Force that provides essential emergency,
operational, and public services to communities, States, the
Federal Government, and the military.
(4) The CAP was established, initially as a part of the
Office of Civil Defense, by air-minded citizens one week
before the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on
December 1, 1941, ``out of the desire of civil airmen of the
country to be mobilized with their equipment in the common
defense'' of the Nation.
(5) Within days of the start of the war, the German Navy
started a massive submarine offensive, known as Operation
Drumbeat, off the east coast of the United States against oil
tankers and other critical shipping that threatened the
overall war effort.
(6) Neither the Navy nor the Army had enough aircraft,
ships, or other resources to adequately patrol and protect
the shipping along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of
the United States, and many ships were torpedoed within sight
of civilians on shore, including 52 tankers sunk between
January and March 1942.
(7) At that time General George Marshall remarked that
``[t]he losses by submarines off our Atlantic seaboard and in
the Caribbean now threaten our entire war effort''.
(8) From the beginning CAP leaders urged the military to
use its services to patrol coastal waters but met with great
resistance because of the nonmilitary training and status of
CAP pilots.
(9) Finally, in response to the ever-increasing submarine
attacks, the Tanker Committee of the Petroleum Industry War
Council urged the Navy Department and the War Department to
consider the use of the CAP to help patrol the sea lanes off
the coasts of the United States.
(10) While the Navy initially rejected this suggestion, the
Army decided it had merit, and the Civil Air Patrol Coastal
Patrol began in March 1942.
(11) Oil companies and other organizations provided funds
to help pay for some CAP operations, including vitally needed
shore radios that were used to monitor patrol missions.
(12) By late March 1942, the Navy also began to use the
services of the CAP.
(13) Starting with three bases located in Delaware,
Florida, and New Jersey, CAP aircrews immediately started to
spot enemy submarines as well as lifeboats, bodies, and
wreckage.
(14) Within 15 minutes of the first Coast Patrol flight,
the pilot had sighted a torpedoed tanker and was coordinating
rescue operations.
(15) Eventually 21 bases, ranging from Bar Harbor, Maine,
to Brownsville, Texas, were set up for the CAP to patrol the
Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, with
40,000 volunteers participating.
(16) The CAP used a wide range of civilian-owned aircraft,
mainly light-weight, single engine aircraft--manufactured by
Cessna, Beech, Waco, Fairchild, Stinson, Piper, Taylorcraft,
and Sikorsky, among others--as well as some twin engine
aircraft such as the Grumman Widgeon.
(17) These aircraft were painted in their civilian prewar
colors (red, yellow, blue, etc.) and carried special markings
(a blue circle with a white triangle) to identify them as CAP
aircraft.
(18) Patrols were conducted up to 100 miles off shore,
generally with 2 aircraft flying together, in aircraft often
equipped with only a compass for navigation and a single
radio for communication.
(19) Due to the critical nature of the situation, CAP
operations were conducted in bad weather as well as good,
often when the military was unable to fly, and in all seasons
(including the winter) when ditching an aircraft in cold
water would likely mean certain death to the aircrew.
(20) Personal emergency equipment was often lacking,
particularly during early patrols where inner tubes and kapok
duck hunter vests were carried as flotation devices since
ocean worthy wet suits, life vests, and life rafts were
unavailable.
(21) The initial purpose of the CAP was to spot submarines,
report their position to the military, and force them to dive
below the surface, which limited their operating speed and
maneuverability and reduced their ability to detect and
attack shipping.
(22) It soon became apparent that there were opportunities
for CAP pilots to attack submarines, such as when a Florida
CAP aircrew came across a surfaced submarine that quickly
stranded itself on a sand bar. However, the aircrew could not
get any assistance from armed military aircraft before the
submarine freed itself.
(23) Finally, after a number of these instances, a decision
was made by the military to arm CAP aircraft with 50 and 100
pound bombs, and to arm some larger twin engine aircraft with
325 pound depth charges.
(24) The arming of CAP aircraft dramatically changed the
mission for these civilian aircrews and resulted in more than
57 attacks on enemy submarines.
(25) While CAP volunteers received $8 a day flight
reimbursement, their patrols were accomplished at a great
economic cost to many of the members of the CAP who--
(A) used their own aircraft and other equipment in defense
of the Nation;
(B) paid for much of their own aircraft maintenance and
hangar use; and
(C) often lived in primitive conditions along the coast,
including old barns and chicken coops converted for sleeping.
[[Page S3072]]
(26) More importantly, the CAP Coastal Patrol service came
at the high cost of 26 fatalities, 7 serious injuries, and 90
aircraft lost.
(27) At the conclusion of the 18-month Coastal Patrol, the
heroic CAP aircrews would be credited with the following:
(A) 2 submarines destroyed or damaged.
(B) 57 submarines attacked.
(C) 82 bombs dropped against submarines.
(D) 173 radio reports of submarine positions (with a number
of credited assists for kills made by military units).
(E) 17 floating mines reported.
(F) 36 dead bodies reported.
(G) 91 vessels in distress reported.
(H) 363 survivors in distress reported.
(I) 836 irregularities noted.
(J) 1,036 special investigations at sea or along the coast.
(K) 5,684 convoy missions for the Navy.
(L) 86,685 missions flown.
(M) 244,600 total flight hours logged.
(N) More than 24,000,000 miles flown.
(28) At least one high-level German Navy Officer credited
the CAP with being the primary reason that submarine attacks
were withdrawn from the Atlantic coast of the United States
in 1943, when he said that ``[i]t was because of those damned
little red and yellow planes!''.
(29) The CAP was dismissed from coastal missions with
little thanks in August 1943 when the Navy took over the
mission completely and ordered the CAP to stand down.
(30) While the Coastal Patrol was ongoing, the CAP was also
establishing itself as a vital wartime service to the
military, States, and communities nationwide by performing a
wide range of missions including--
(A) border patrol;
(B) forest fire patrol;
(C) courier flights for mail, repair and replacement parts,
and urgent deliveries;
(D) emergency transportation of personnel;
(E) target towing (with live ammunition being fired at the
targets and seven lives being lost) and searchlight tracking
training missions;
(F) missing aircraft and personnel searches;
(G) rescue of aircraft crash survivors;
(H) radar training flights;
(I) aerial inspections of camouflaged military and civilian
facilities;
(J) aerial inspections of city and town blackout
conditions;
(K) mock bombing attacks on cities and facilities to test
air defenses;
(L) aerial searches for scrap metal materials;
(M) support of war bond drives;
(N) airport guard duties;
(O) support for State and local emergencies such as natural
disasters;
(P) recruiting for the Army Air Force; and
(Q) a cadet youth program which provided aviation and
military training.
(31) The CAP flew more than 500,000 hours on these
additional missions, including--
(A) 20,500 missions involving target towing (with live
ammunition) and gun/searchlight tracking which resulted in 7
deaths, 5 serious injuries, and the loss of 25 aircraft;
(B) a courier service involving 3 major Air Force Commands
over a 2-year period carrying more than 3,500,000 pounds of
vital cargo and 543 passengers;
(C) southern border operations flying more than 30,000
hours, with 7,000 reports of unusual sightings including a
vehicle (that was apprehended) with 2 enemy agents attempting
to enter the country;
(D) a week in February 1945 during which CAP units found
seven missing Army and Navy pilots; and
(E) a State in which the CAP flew 790 hours on forest fire
patrol missions and reported 576 fires to authorities during
a single year.
(32) On April 29, 1943, the CAP was transferred to the Army
Air Forces, thus beginning its long association with the
United States Air Force.
(33) Hundreds of CAP-trained women joined military women's
units including the Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP)
program.
(34) Many members of the Women's Air Force Service Pilots
program joined or rejoined the CAP during the post-war period
because it provided women opportunities to fly and continue
to serve the Nation that were severely lacking elsewhere.
(35) Due to the exceptional emphasis on safety, unit
discipline, and pilot discipline, and the organization of the
CAP, by the end of the war only 64 members of the CAP had
died in service and only 150 aircraft had been lost
(including its Coastal Patrol loses from early in the war).
(36) There were more than 60,000 adult civilian members of
the CAP in wide range of positions, and CAP aircrews flew a
total of approximately 750,000 hours during the war, most of
which were in their personal aircraft and often at real risk
to their lives.
(37) After the war, at a CAP dinner for Congress, a quorum
of both Houses attended with the Speaker of the House of
Representatives and the President thanking the CAP for its
service.
(38) While air medals were issued for those participating
in the Coastal Patrol, little other recognition was
forthcoming for those efforts or for the other services the
CAP volunteers provided during the war.
(39) Despite efforts to end the organization at the end of
the war, the CAP had proved its capabilities and strengthened
its ties with the Air Force and Congress.
(40) In 1946, Congress chartered the CAP as a nonprofit,
public service organization and in 1948 as the Auxiliary of
the United States Air Force.
(41) Today the CAP conducts many of the same missions it
performed during World War II, including a vital role in
homeland security.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) Award.--
(1) Authorized.--The President pro tempore of the Senate
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall make
appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of
Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design in
honor of the World War II members of the Civil Air Patrol
collectively, in recognition of the military service and
exemplary record of the Civil Air Patrol during World War II.
(2) Design and striking.--For the purposes of the award
referred to in paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Treasury
shall strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, devices,
and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.
(3) Smithsonian institution.--
(A) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal
referred to in paragraph (1) in honor of the World War II
members of the Civil Air Patrol, the gold medal shall be
given to the Smithsonian Institution, where it shall be
displayed as appropriate and made available for research.
(B) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the Smithsonian Institution should make the gold medal
received under this paragraph available for display
elsewhere, particularly at other locations associated with
the Civil Air Patrol.
(b) Duplicate Medals.--Under such regulations as the
Secretary may prescribe, the Secretary may strike and sell
duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck under this Act,
at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals,
including labor, materials, dyes, use of machinery, and
overhead expenses.
(c) National Medals.--Medals struck pursuant to this Act
are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31,
United States Code.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be charged against the United States Mint Public
Enterprise Fund, an amount not to exceed $30,000 to pay for
the cost of the medal authorized under section 2.
(b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of
duplicate bronze medals under section 2(b) shall be deposited
in the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I will speak about S. 418, which we just
passed. I thank all my colleagues for allowing it to go through on a
unanimous consent basis.
This bill awards a Congressional Gold Medal to the World War II
members of the Civil Air Patrol. I introduced this legislation last
year, and it currently has 85 cosponsors.
This legislation will offer long overdue recognition to a small group
of people who answered the call to duty at our Nation's time of maximum
danger.
Seventy years ago, during the height of World War II, Civil Air
Patrol members in small aircraft began searching for German U-boats off
the Atlantic Coast. This was a time of great peril for the Nation when
over 400 ships were sunk in U.S. waters, many in view of Americans on
shore, and the military didn't have enough aircraft and ships to stop
this carnage. That is why the Civil Air Patrol answered the call.
Their mission was highly unusual because these pilots were civilian
volunteers flying their own airplanes in combat operations, often at
their own expense. The mission was for Civil Air Patrol aircraft to
force the U-boats below the surface of the water, making their attacks
on shipping much more difficult and time consuming. As soon as the
Civil Air Patrol pilots took to the air, they spotted so many U-boats
that the military quickly armed their aircraft with small bombs and
depth charges. From Maine to Texas, Civil Air Patrol aircraft flew
these missions in pairs up to 100 miles offshore, in all seasons, often
in bad weather. These CAP, as they are known, put themselves at great
risk, flying over water at low levels with only a compass, one radio,
and minimal survival gear to help if they got into trouble. Many pilots
had to ditch in the water. Twenty-six pilots lost their lives and 90
aircraft were lost.
During an 18-month period, the Civil Air Patrol flew over 24 million
miles on its antisubmarine coastal patrols. It spotted 173 U-boats,
attacked 57, and sank or damaged 2. It also escorted over 5,600 convoys
and reported 17 floating mines, 36 bodies, 91 ships in distress, and
363 survivors in the water. Most importantly, CAP's constant
[[Page S3073]]
presence over the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico was a major factor in
pushing enemy operations away from the coast and protecting vital
shipping and cargo up and down our coastlines.
In 1943 German U-boat attacks ceased off the Atlantic coast of the
United States. One high-level German officer credited the Civil Air
Patrol with being the primary reason for withdrawal, saying, ``It was
because of those damned little red and yellow airplanes.''
As the U-boat threat ended, Civil Air Patrol expanded its homeland
security and emergency operations to include search and rescue, border
patrol, forest fire patrol, and disaster relief in every State in the
Nation.
By war's end, nearly 60,000 members had participated in the Civil Air
Patrol and flew 75 million miles over 750,000 hours in support of
critical homefront missions. Its volunteers ranged in age from 18 to
over 80. Many served for the entire war, while others, most of whom
later joined the military, served for shorter periods. A substantial
number received ``belligerent'' certificates indicating they had
participated in combat-related duty with the Civil Air Patrol.
The individual accounts of Civil Air Patrol pilots' performance and
heroism are too numerous to recount, but just a few examples can
illustrate the valor with which they served.
For instance, Maj. Hugh Sharp and Lt. Eddie Edwards from Rehoboth,
DE, landed their Sikorsky amphibian in high seas to rescue two other
CAP airmen who had to ditch their plane. They found one crew member who
was badly hurt, but they were unable to take off due to a pontoon
damaged during a rough landing in 10-foot seas. They made a decision to
taxi the aircraft back to land, but they quickly discovered that the
damaged amphibian listed too far to the left and it didn't make much
progress. It just sort of went around in circles. So Eddie volunteered
to climb to the end of the right wing to keep the plane in balance. The
next day, when a Coast Guard ship met the aircraft, Eddie had to be
carried from the wing after holding on tightly for 11 hours in freezing
and wet conditions. Both pilots were awarded the first Air Medals of
the war by President Roosevelt.
Capt. Francis ``Mac'' McLaughlin flew coastal patrol missions from
Daytona Beach, FL, for 17 months. During that time, he, along with
Albert Crabtree, ditched a Fairchild 24 aircraft in the Atlantic and
floated in a life raft for several hours until the Coast Guard picked
them up. They quickly became members of the ``Duck Club,'' an exclusive
organization that recognized those who survived a CAP ditching. There
would soon be many in that club, as I mentioned. When the coastal
patrol ended, Mac went to Massachusetts to tow aerial targets, the
CAP's second most dangerous duty after the coastal patrol. Seven CAP
pilots and observers would be shot down and killed during gunnery
practice. Mac, who served the entire war on Active Duty with the Civil
Air Patrol, passed away at the end of 2011.
Another CAP veteran was Lt. Charles Compton, who flew from Coastal
Patrol Base 1 at Atlantic City, NJ, on antisubmarine and convoy escort
missions. He recently noted:
Convoys could be attacked at any time. We had a war going
on and the threat of German submarines off the east coast.
Our job was to make it less easy for the German submarines to
surface without being detected.
Charles, who lives near Chicago and turned 95 last summer, remembers
that during these dangerous missions, pilots often used sunken ships as
points of reference to help them navigate when over water. He added
that, unfortunately, sunken ships were plentiful at that time. Recently
recognized for his service with Civil Air Patrol's Distinguished
Service Award, he credits the exceptional efforts of his fellow
Atlantic City squadron members for the honor he received.
These are just three stories, but they are illustrative of Civil Air
Patrol's many World War II heroes. More importantly, these stories
serve as a powerful reminder of the dedication and service that all
gave to our Nation.
When the war ended, Civil Air Patrol members received the recognition
they deserved. Over time, however, their story was lost to much of the
Nation. This Congressional Gold Medal will ensure that this story is
told over and over to future generations and recognizes the Civil Air
Patrol and its World War II members for their critically important
service to our Nation.
Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a
quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________