[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 108 (Wednesday, June 27, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E937-E938]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING ROBERT HOLMSTROM OF MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 27, 2018

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Robert Holmstrom of 
Maplewood, Minnesota. Earlier this year he, along with 13,000 men and 
women who formed the ranks of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) 
were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Their heroic actions during 
World War II contributed greatly to the success of our nation's war 
efforts. So consequential were the missions they carried out that 
Robert and those with whom he served were sworn to secrecy for 40 
years.
  The OSS served as the preeminent intelligence and special operations 
organization over the course of World War II and the precursor to the 
Central Intelligence Agency. The OSS ``organized, trained, supplied, 
and fought'' in both the European and Pacific theaters, playing a 
decisive role in the Allied victory over Axis forces. The ranks of the 
OSS were comprised of exceptional citizens as well as members of every 
branch of the armed services. Their work was often conducted under 
conditions of extreme danger and in the most intense environments. The 
tide of the war may very well have turned against the Allies had it not 
been for the perpetual bravery and success of the men and women of the 
OSS.
  An Army Air Corps-trained pilot, Robert Holmstrom was recruited to 
fly missions for the OSS. Conducted under Operation CARPETBAGGER, the 
missions would take him and a crew, in a blacked-out B-24, deep into 
Nazi occupied France where they dropped weapons, equipment, and OSS 
agents to assist French resistance fighters prior to the Allied 
invasion at Normandy on D-Day. Often flying in weather deemed unsafe 
for regular missions, and only on moonlit nights so as to see the 
resistance fighters signaling them with flashlights, these airdrops 
were often flown at very low altitudes. Between January of 1944 and May 
1945, the men and women working under Operation CARPETBAGGER, completed 
1,860 sorties and delivered 20,495 containers and 11,174 packages of 
vital supplies to the resistance forces in western and northwestern 
Europe. Their success and bravery earned them the moniker of 
``Carpetbaggers''.
  Mr. Holmstrom returned to Minnesota where he had a long and 
successful career in Airline Plant Protection for Northwest Airlines.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring Robert Holmstrom and the many 
others like him, who so admirably served our nation in the Office of 
Strategic Services during WWII.

[[Page E938]]

In a time of unparalleled challenges, their bravery helped to lead the 
U.S. and our Allies to victory.

                          ____________________