[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 121 (Thursday, July 18, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E945]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING STAFF SERGEANT PAUL EUGENE CALKIN

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                     HON. ERIC A. ``RICK'' CRAWFORD

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 18, 2019

  Mr. CRAWFORD. Madam Speaker, today I rise to mourn the passing of 
Staff Sergeant Paul Eugene Calkin, a World War Two Army Air Corps 
veteran who passed away on June 12 at the age of 95.
  Staff Sergeant Calkin flew with the 349th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb 
Group, 8th Air Force, and the 15th Air Force during the war, based at 
airfields in Italy and the United Kingdom. He fought in bombardments at 
Po Valley, the Rhineland, Apennines, and the Battle of the Bulge.
  He was never hesitant to share the lessons he learned fighting for 
freedom with younger generations, even sharing how he was shot down 
during a visit with students from Valley View Junior High. After his 
plane ditched in the English Channel in February, Calkin waited in the 
freezing water for 40 minutes before he was rescued.
  In his time in the Army, Calkin was awarded the Distinguished Flying 
Cross, the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Good Conduct 
Medal, the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four 
bronze battle stars, the World War II Victory Medal, the American 
Campaign Medal, the American Defense Medal, and the RAF Gold Fish 
Medal. In 2000, the Department of Defense awarded Calkin the Purple 
Heart for injuries he sustained in combat half a century earlier, and 
in 2013 the French Republic awarded him the French Legion of Honor for 
his role in liberating France from tyranny.
  I invite Congress to join me in extending condolences to Paul Eugene 
Calkin's family and recognizing his service to the United States and 
the world

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