[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 184 (Sunday, October 25, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S6595]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 REMEMBERING COLONEL DUANE A. KUHLMANN

 Mr. JONES. Madam President, I rise today to remember Col. 
Duane A. Kuhlmann, a longtime resident of Spanish Fort, AL, who died on 
September 23, 2020. It is with humility and sadness that we pause to 
mark the passing of yet another member of the ``greatest generation,'' 
a brave and dedicated patriot, a leader, and a beloved husband and 
father.
  Born to first-generation Americans in Iowa and raised in Byron, MN, 
Duane volunteered for the Army Air Corps at age 19, soon after the 
Pearl Harbor bombing. After a medical issue delayed his training, Duane 
joined the fight in the Pacific in 1944 flying the P-40, before closing 
out the war in the P-51. After the Japanese surrender, he spent the 
next year as part of the U.S. occupation of Japan. Soon after returning 
stateside, Duane married Dorothy Guenther, and together they had seven 
children, two of whom served their country as officers in the U.S. 
Navy. After the war, Duane continued to fly the P-51 and was a 
demonstration pilot for his squadron. Later he and his squadron 
transitioned to jets, flying the F-84. His squadron was ordered to join 
the Korean conflict, but after prepositioning in Japan they were 
ordered back to Turner Air Force Base in Georgia. Duane's Air Force 
career took the family to Albany, GA; Ephrata, WA; Wiesbaden, Germany; 
Montgomery, AL; Sumter, SC; San Antonio, TX; and finally Dayton, OH.
  During the Vietnam conflict, Duane led his squadron of RB-66 aircraft 
across the Pacific to provide electronic and reconnaissance support for 
our troops. Two years later, he led the same squadron to Vietnam for a 
second tour of duty, this time providing `recce' support flying the RF-
4 phantom over Hanoi and Haiphong harbor.
  Colonel Kuhlmann retired from the Air Force in 1974 in Dayton, OH, as 
vice commander of Defense Electronics Systems Command. He was awarded 
the Legion of Merit in 1974 and accumulated numerous air medals 
throughout his distinguished career.
  My wife Louise and I extend our gratitude for Colonel Kulhmann's 
service, as well as our condolences for his loss to his children John 
Kuhlmann and his wife Rosie, Jenny Kuhlmann Zinn and her husband Bob, 
Tom Kuhlmann, Karen Sher and her husband Andy, Fritzie Kuhlmann Bassel 
and her husband Steve, Greg Kuhlmann and his wife Stephanie, Chris 
Kuhlmann and his wife Dani, and to his 19 grandchildren an 24 great 
grandchildren.
  Though not a native son, Duane chose to spend the last years of his 
life in Alabama, joining the roughly 400,000 other veterans living 
there whose service and sacrifices have brought honor to our great 
State.
  Colonel Kuhlmann, after a life well-lived, may you rest in 
peace.

                          ____________________