[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 121 (Tuesday, September 11, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1483]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CELEBRATING 90TH BIRTHDAY OF ALVAR ``AL'' EDWIN SPERRING

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                            HON. JEFF DENHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 11, 2012

  Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and honor the 
life of a beloved veteran, Alvar ``Al'' Edwin Sperring on his 90th 
birthday. Alvar was born in San Francisco, California on September 18, 
1922. He is the youngest of five brothers, born to John Edward Sperring 
and Anna Emily Sperring.
  Mr. Sperring's parents moved to Sonoma, California during his early 
childhood, where he attended local schools and graduated from Sonoma 
Valley Union High School in 1940. Upon graduation, he went to work for 
the Pacific Telephone Company in San Francisco as a lineman working 
throughout Northern California and Nevada.
  Alvar was drafted into the United States Army on January 30, 1943, in 
San Francisco, California. He applied and was accepted for the Aviation 
Cadet School. He graduated from Pilot School on May 22, 1944, with the 
rank of Second Lieutenant at Stockton Field, Stockton, California, 
Class 44-E.
  On May 28, 1944, he married his high school sweetheart, Alyda 
Bernadette Picchi, at St. Edward's Church in San Francisco, California. 
Together, they raised four sons: Roger, Robert, Ronald, and Randall. He 
is proud of his six grandsons and six great-grandchildren.
  Mr. Sperring's first Air Force assignment was at Muroc Army Air Base 
in Lancaster, California for B-24 Liberator Bomber Pilot training. In 
1945, he served overseas with the 38th Bombardment Squadron stationed 
in Guam in the Pacific Theater. He was honorably discharged on April 3, 
1946, with the rank of First Lieutenant and remained in the U.S. Army 
Air Force Reserves until November 1963.
  Alvar returned to his former employment with Pacific Telephone 
Company in San Francisco and was promoted to Line Foreman. In 1950, he 
was transferred to Lodi, California. Lodi had transitioned to a dial 
system, and he was instrumental in achieving that endeavor. He retired 
in 1983 with 42 years of loyal and dedicated service in various 
supervisory capacities.
  Alvar is a sixty-year member of The American Legion, active member of 
International Order of Odd Fellows, Telephone Pioneers, Past Big Sir of 
Branch 18 Sons in Retirement and one of the early founders of the Lodi 
Boys and Girls Club. He is a long-time member of the Woodbridge Golf 
and Country Club, where he plays golf three times a week.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in honouring Alvar E. Sperring and 
expressing our congratulations on his 90th birthday. Best wishes to him 
and his family for continued success, happiness, and good health in 
years to come.

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