[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 61 (Wednesday, April 20, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E540-E541]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  IN RECOGNITION OF PATRICK J. SOLANO, RECIPIENT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA 
        SOCIETY DISTINGUISHED CITIZEN OF THE COMMONWEALTH AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MATT CARTWRIGHT

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 20, 2016

  Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Patrick J. Solano, 
who will receive the Distinguished Citizen of the Commonwealth Award on 
April 22, 2016 during the

[[Page E541]]

118th annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Society. Since 1976, the 
Distinguished Citizen of the Commonwealth Award has been bestowed upon 
an individual whose actions have stood out in benefiting the 
Commonwealth. Mr. Solano is renowned across Pennsylvania for dedicating 
a lifetime of service to his country, state, and community.
  A veteran of World War II, Mr. Solano was with the Eighth U.S. Air 
Force Heavy Bombardment Group from 1943 to 1946. Mr. Solano completed 
twenty-three combat missions aboard a B-17 named ``Hangover.'' His 
valor earned him the Group Presidential Citation, the Air Force Medal 
with two Oak Leaf Clusters, and the European Combat Theatre Medal with 
two Bronze Stars.
  Following his military service, Mr. Solano advised nine governors of 
Pennsylvania. He offered counsel to William Scranton, Raymond P. 
Shafer, Milton Shapp, Dick Thornburg, Robert P. Casey, Tom Ridge, Mark 
Schweiker, Ed Rendell, and Tom Corbett, as well as Pennsylvania State 
Senate Majority Leader Dominick Pilleggi. Mr. Solano earned a 
reputation for working behind the scenes to find bipartisan solutions 
and funding for projects. In addition to advising Pennsylvania's chief 
executives, Mr. Solano served as Deputy Secretary for Parks and Forests 
at the Department of Environmental Resources and as the Acting 
Secretary of the then newly created Department of Conservation and 
Natural Resources.
  After forty years of service to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
Solano retired in 2002. Today, he resides in Hughestown with his wife 
Marie. They are the parents of six daughters and have eleven 
grandchildren.
  It is an honor to recognize Patrick J. Solano for receiving the 
Distinguished Citizen of the Commonwealth Award. I am deeply grateful 
for his outstanding service to Pennsylvania.

                          ____________________