[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 148 (Friday, August 20, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E911]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING LT. GEN. JOHN F. GONGE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN GARAMENDI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, August 20, 2021

  Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Lieutenant 
General John F. Gonge for his long and distinguished military career as 
well as the establishment of the Gonge Innovation Center at Travis Air 
Force Base's Phoenix Spark Lab. Lt. Gen. Gonge was born in 1921, in 
Ansley, Neb., where he graduated from Ansley High School in 1938 before 
his desire to serve led him to enter active military service as an 
aviation cadet. He attended the U.S. Army Air Corps Flying School at 
Lubbock Army Air Field, Texas, where he received his pilot wings and 
commission as a second lieutenant in December 1943. During World War 
II, he flew the ``Hump'' in the China-Burma-India campaigns with the 
Army Air Corps Air Transport Command, ensuring crucial resources could 
be transported through the treacherous Himalayas to American allies.
  A career transport pilot, General Gonge has filled innumerable roles 
during his career, remaining with airlift forces through Air Training 
Command, Military Air Transport Service, and Military Airlift Command. 
At each stop along the way he has imparted his experience and wisdom to 
many others who seek to serve their country. In July 1969 he came to 
Travis Air Force Base as vice commander of the 60th Military Airlift 
Wing before he was assigned as commander of the 63d Military Airlift 
Wing at Norton Air Force Base, Calif., in February 1970. Subsequently, 
General Gonge commanded the 22d Air Force at Travis Air Force Base from 
August 1972 to August 1975, when he became vice commander of the 
Military Airlift Command.
  General Gonge is a command pilot with more than 13,000 flying hours. 
His military decorations and awards include the Distinguished Service 
Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service 
Medal, Air Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, 
Army Commendation Medal, and the Distinguished Unit Citation Emblem. 
These recognitions and his promotion to the grade of lieutenant general 
in September, 1975 make it clear that General Gonge's legacy will 
continue to guide and inspire generations to come. On behalf of the 
people of California's 3rd Congressional District, I offer my sincere 
gratitude for his many decades of dedicated service.