[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 17 (Thursday, January 26, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H349]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING MAJOR KATIE LUNNING

  (Mr. NUNN of Iowa asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. NUNN of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Major Katie 
Lunning, a Critical Care Air Transport Team nurse in the U.S. Air Force 
Air National Guard.
  The wings of angels come in many forms. On August 26, 2021, those 
wings came in the form of Flight Nurse Lunning. Her medical evacuation 
team boarded a C-17 Globemaster, a massive flying ambulance, to 
evacuate critically injured Americans and allies in the evacuation of 
Afghanistan.
  Major Katie Lunning, an intensive critical care unit nurse manager in 
her civilian career, is no stranger to hard work and the harrowing 
missions with the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs in Des Moines, 
Iowa.
  Recently, Major Lunning became the first flight nurse in the Air 
National Guard to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, our 
Nation's highest award for extraordinary aerial achievement.
  As Afghanistan fell and Taliban forces converged on the capital, 
Major Lunning was one of the first to respond to a mass casualty 
suicide bombing at Kabul airport. The tragic death toll claimed the 
lives of nearly 200, including 13 American servicemembers, among them 
Iowa's very own Corporal Daegan Page.
  Major Lunning was on the scene within hours of the bombing and 
immediately worked to triage and prepare patients for evacuation while 
taking enemy fire.
  With few resources, Major Lunning provided medical care to patients, 
including five who were critically injured and a 2-year-old with a 
traumatic brain injury, during the 8-hour flight to safety. All 22 
patients survived.
  She is the epitome of a winged angel: heroic, selfless, and providing 
rescue to those in times of critical need.
  With all of Iowa, I join in saluting Major Lunning as we could not be 
prouder. Moreover, her dauntless courage is an inspiration to the 
future women and men who will don the flight nurse's uniform and serve 
our State and country in the missions ahead.

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