[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 153 (Thursday, September 13, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              CELEBRATING MATHER FIELD'S 100TH ANNIVERSARY

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                             HON. AMI BERA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 13, 2018

  Mr. BERA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mather Field as they 
celebrate their centennial anniversary in Sacramento County.
   During World War I the Army activated Mills Air Field, east of 
Sacramento. It was renamed Mather Field in honor of 2nd Lieutenant Carl 
Spencer Mather, killed in 1918 during a training flight collision in 
Texas, at the request of his classmates. Following World War I, Mather 
was temporarily shut down as a military base but reopened in 1925 and 
hosted the first annual ``Aerial Circus'', featuring 90 airplanes 
demonstrating aerobatic stunts and displays. Two years later, Charles 
Lindbergh and the famous The Spirit of St. Louis visited Mather Field 
following his first solo transatlantic flight.
   In 1930, Mather was reactivated as a training center for the U.S. 
Armed Forces and later played an important role preparing the Army for 
the fight in the Pacific Theater. With an Allied victory in sight, 
Mather Field's training activities ended in 1944 and it became a major 
stopover point for troops and aircraft headed to and from the Pacific. 
Following U.S. victory in the Pacific, Mather returned to its status as 
a training base and ownership was transferred to the U.S. Air Force as 
part of the Air Training Command.
   The Department of Defense moved all of its navigator training to 
Mather AFB in 1964 and navigator training became Mather's specialty for 
several decades. In 1976, the Interservice Undergraduate Navigator 
Training was established at Mather to serve Navy, Marine and Coast 
Guard students and trained the first female navigators.
   While Mather AFB was decommissioned in 1993, Mather Field continues 
to support the Sacramento region. The Former base now hosts 
Sacramento's Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Mather Business Park and 
Mather Airport, which is an important regional cargo hub.
   I am incredibly proud to represent Mather and the surrounding 
community. As Mather Field celebrates its 100th birthday at the 2018 
California Capital Airshow, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring 
this historic landmark for all it has provided our region and our 
country over the last century.

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