[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 19, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E464-E465]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING THE MEMORY AND SERVICE OF ERWIN J. KORCZYNSKI

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 19, 2026

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the memory of Erwin J. 
Korczynski of Chicago, Illinois. Erwin was a United States Marine Corps 
veteran, commercial airline captain, and Civil Reserve Air Fleet pilot 
who passed away on January 5, 2011, after a battle with prostate 
cancer.
  Erwin Korczynski was born on March 30, 1942, and raised in Chicago, 
where he attended Lane Technical High School and later Northern 
Illinois University. During the Vietnam War, he enlisted in the United 
States Marine Corps alongside his identical twin brother, Edwin. After 
their discharge, both brothers were hired by Eastern Air Lines, 
beginning careers that would eventually draw them into support roles 
during two American wars.
  Through his work with Evergreen Airlines, Erwin became part of the 
Civil Reserve Air Fleet, a partnership between the Department of 
Defense and the commercial aviation industry that augmented Military 
Airlift Command

[[Page E465]]

capacity during wartime. During Desert Shield and Desert Storm, CRAF 
pilots moved 400,000 troops and 335,000 tons of cargo over 165 days, 
what has been called the greatest airlift in history. Erwin flew 35 
sorties in support of those operations, the same number, by 
extraordinary coincidence, as his twin brother Edwin.
  On behalf of the residents of the 9th Congressional District of 
Illinois, I want to share our gratitude for Erwin's service to this 
country, in uniform as a Marine and in the cockpit as a civilian pilot 
who kept flying into harm's way long after his discharge.

                          ____________________