[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 33 (Thursday, February 26, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E261-E262]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO MR. ROLAND J. ``ROCKY'' GANNON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 26, 2015

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and recognize Roland 
``Rocky'' J. Gannon, a resident of Florence, South Carolina and join 
with his friends throughout the Pee Dee area of South Carolina in 
celebration of his 90th birthday.
  Mr. Gannon is a decorated veteran, having served thirty-seven years 
in the Air Force before retiring in 1980. His service began in 1943 
while he was a high school junior when he entered an Air Force pilot 
training program, from which he graduated one month after D-Day. During 
his decades of service, he flew more than 6,000 hours in thirty-four 
different types of aircraft. Fourteen of those years were served 
overseas and included 387 combat missions in Vietnam. After the end of 
World War II, ``Rocky'' spent three years in Iwo Jima, Japan. His 
service in these theaters, as well as in the Korean War and Belgian 
Congo, earned him fifty military awards, including the Distinguished 
Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, and 
ten Air Medals.
  After his retirement from the Air Force in 1980, Mr. Gannon took his 
expertise to the private sector as an independent aviation consultant 
and was subsequently named Executive Director of the Florence Regional 
Airport. In 2001, commemoration of his accomplishments in both civilian 
and combat aviation, he was named South Carolina Aviator of the Year 
and was inducted into the South Carolina Aviation Association Hall of 
Fame.
  ``Rocky's'' passion for aviation is matched only by his dedication to 
the Boy Scouts of

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America. He joined the scouts when he was twelve years old and rose to 
the rank of Eagle Scout before joining the Air Force. He credits the 
training he received as a Boy Scout to much of his success in military 
and civilian life. He has given back to the scouts throughout his 
career and in 2009 received the Distinguished Eagle Award, the Boy 
Scouts of America's highest honor.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my colleagues join me in 
congratulating Mr. Gannon on this milestone and thanking him for his 
outstanding contributions to Florence, the Pee Dee area, to South 
Carolina, and to our great country. I wish him Godspeed and a happy and 
healthy 90th birthday celebration in the company of his friends and 
family.

                          ____________________