[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 15, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E79]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE NAVAL AIR STATION, PENSACOLA HEADQUARTERS AS THE W.L. 
                        RICHARDSON BUILDING 1500

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF MILLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 15, 2014

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to commemorate the 
life of Walter Leroy ``Dick'' Richardson and recognize the Naval Air 
Station, Pensacola Headquarters as the W.L. Richardson Building 1500.
   Walter Leroy Richardson was born August 21, 1889 in Princeton Depot, 
Massachusetts and was later married to Ethel Wilkerson. He enlisted as 
a Ship's Cook (4th class) in the U.S. Navy on November 1, 1911, where 
he served on the USS Mississippi. Having developed a passion for 
photography in his youth, Richardson was able to continue his hobby of 
photography on the USS Mississippi while it was anchored in Pensacola. 
During the Navy's first few weeks of aviation-related activities in 
Pensacola in 1914, Richardson often captured aviation activities on 
film, and the Navy recognized that his photographs were a valuable tool 
for training and documenting aircraft testing, accidents, and other 
activities. Before long, the Navy designated Richardson as the Navy's 
first official photographer. At the start of World War I, the Navy used 
photography for aerial reconnaissance, and Richardson was soon 
commissioned and charged with organizing the first Naval School of 
Photography.
   Richardson is now known as the ``Father of Naval Photography and 
Naval Aerial Photographers.'' He served as photographer aboard the USS 
Birmingham during the Mexican Intervention in 1914, and he also 
invented the first handheld oblique camera for aerial photography. 
Pushing the limits of what a camera in the air could do, he even 
survived a crash aboard the first U.S. Navy zeppelin, the USS 
Shenandoah in 1922. He subsequently was honorably discharged from 
military service on January 1, 1926. Walter Leroy Richardson passed 
away on June 14, 1945 and is interred at Fort Lincoln Cemetery, 
Washington D.C.
   Walter Leroy Richardson's pioneering spirit and dedication to his 
craft and country make it an honor to dedicate Naval Air Station 
Building 1500 in Pensacola, Florida to his proud legacy. Building 1500 
was built by the U.S. Army in 1939 and was later turned into a Naval 
School of Photography. The school was later renamed the Defense 
Photography School and relocated to Fort Meade, Maryland. Building 1500 
was selected for renovation under the American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act in 2010 and then designated as headquarters for Naval 
Air Station, Pensacola.
   Mr. Speaker, on behalf of a grateful Nation, I stand here today to 
commend Walter Leroy ``Dick'' Richardson, his lasting impact on the 
United States Armed Forces, and the recognition of his legacy through 
the dedication of Building 1500 as the W.L. Richardson Building 1500 on 
board Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.

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