[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 83 (Wednesday, June 12, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E853]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN THE PEOPLE OF NORTHWEST FLORIDA AND 
                              NOIRMOUTIER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF MILLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 12, 2013

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 
enduring spirit and gratitude of the people of the United States and 
France as exemplified through the mutual friendship of the sister 
cities of Crestview, Florida, and the French island city of 
Noirmoutier-en-l'Ile.
  The island of Noirmoutier, located off the west coast of France near 
Nantes and Saint-Nazaire, maintains an inextricable link with our 
Nation's military history. On July 4, 1943, while America was 
celebrating the date of its independence, an American B-17 crash-landed 
right on the beach of the small Noirmoutier village of la Gueriniere. 
This Flying Fortress was returning to England after a bombing run on 
the Nazi-held airfield outside Saint-Nazaire during World War II. 
Though the crew survived, the Nazi occupation forces on Noirmoutier got 
to the Americans before the island's underground partisans could rescue 
them, and the crew was imprisoned for the duration of the war.
  To this day, the people of Noirmoutier refuse to clear the wreckage 
of the B-17. Even for the island's youngest generation, it acts as a 
vivid reminder of the sacrifices made by France's American allies 
toward the cause of liberating France, and Europe, from the scourge of 
Nazi occupation, deprivation, and brutality. On Commemoration Day, 
Sunday, June 30, 2013, a monument will be unveiled on Noirmoutier 
dedicated to the courageous crew of that fateful B-17 and to all 
Americans who worked so selflessly to obtain France's liberation from 
the Nazis.
  On behalf of the United States Congress and the citizens of Northwest 
Florida, I am privileged to recognize the friendship between the people 
of Northwest Florida and Noirmoutier and join them in honoring the 
service and sacrifice of all men and women who sacrifice their lives in 
the name of freedom.

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