[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 19]
[House]
[Pages 26365-26367]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1315
 RECOGNIZING THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE 5 NAVAL 
                  AVENGER TORPEDO BOMBERS OF FLIGHT 19

  Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the 
rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 500) recognizing the 60th 
anniversary of the disappearance of the 5 naval Avenger torpedo bombers 
of Flight 19 and the naval Mariner rescue aircraft sent to search for 
Flight 19, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 500

       Whereas on December 5, 1945, the 5 Avenger torpedo bombers 
     of Flight 19, originating at the Naval Air Station of Fort 
     Lauderdale, Florida, and its crew of 14 Navy airmen, 
     disappeared;
       Whereas the Mariner rescue aircraft sent to search for 
     Flight 19, originating at the Naval Air Station of Banana 
     River, Florida, and its crew of 13 Navy airmen, also 
     disappeared on that date;
       Whereas December 5, 2005, marks the 60th anniversary of the 
     disappearance of Flight 19;
       Whereas the loss of Flight 19 occurred during peacetime;
       Whereas the disappearance of Flight 19 sparked one of the 
     largest air and sea rescue searches in history covering over 
     200,000 square miles;
       Whereas all investigations of the disappearance of Flight 
     19 have failed to recover any aircraft, debris, or remains;
       Whereas there remain unanswered questions concerning the 
     disappearance of Flight 19; and
       Whereas there are continuing efforts with the latest 
     technology to determine the location of the lost aircraft and 
     crews: Now, therefore be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) recognizes the 60th anniversary of the disappearance of 
     the 5 naval Avenger torpedo bombers of Flight 19 and the 
     naval Mariner rescue aircraft sent to search for Flight 19;
       (2) honors the memory of the 27 Navy airmen lost in these 
     disappearances;
       (3) recognizes the historical significance of Flight 19;
       (4) acknowledges continuing efforts to determine what 
     caused these disappearances; and
       (5) commends the Naval Historical Center for preserving the 
     history of Flight 19.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Culberson). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann Davis) and the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann 
Davis).


                             General Leave

  Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and 
extend their remarks on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 500, recognizing the 
60th anniversary of the loss of 27 men with Flight 19 and the naval 
Mariner rescue aircraft.
  On December 5, 1945, the United States Navy tragically lost 27 of its 
bravest men to circumstances that are still surrounded in mystery. On 
that day, Flight 19, comprised of five Avenger torpedo bombers with a 
total crew of 14 flew out of Fort Lauderdale's Naval Air Station for a 
routine exercise and never returned.
  After having lost contact with Flight 19, the Navy deployed a rescue 
mission of 13 men, all of whom never returned.
  Theories abound about what happened that day with the disappearance 
of 27 men and their planes, sparking one of the largest air and sea 
searches in history. Hundreds of ships and aircraft scoured over 
200,000 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The 
wreckage was never found. Questions have gone unexplained.
  Most try to explain away the events by offering the theory that 
Flight 19 disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle.

[[Page 26366]]

  After intense investigation, we do know that Flight 19 lifted into 
the air from the Naval Air Station at Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 2:10 
in the afternoon during peacetime. It was a routine practice mission 
under the command of Lieutenant Charles Taylor. After having completed 
their objective, the flight plan called for them to fly an additional 
67 miles east then turn north for 73 miles and finally back to the 
Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale, making their distance a total of 120 
miles.
  While attempting the return flight, a radio transmission from Taylor 
signaled that his compasses were not working, but indicated he believed 
himself to be somewhere over the Florida Keys. Flight 19 thereafter 
lost contact with the tower and was never heard from again.
  The Mariner took off approximately at 7:30 p.m. in search of Flight 
19 and was never seen nor heard from after takeoff. Based upon a report 
from a merchant ship off Fort Lauderdale which sighted a burst of 
flame, it is believed that this aircraft exploded at sea and sank. 
However, no trace of the plane or its crew was ever found.
  Mr. Speaker, on one tragic day, 27 families experienced excruciating 
losses of their loved ones, and this Nation lost 27 of its bravest and 
most dedicated Americans. While the events of that day may go 
unexplained, the memories of those men will not go unhonored. These 27 
men have the thanks of a grateful Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 500, introduced by 
the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw). This resolution recognizes the 
60th anniversary of the disappearance of the five naval Avenger torpedo 
bombers of Flight 19 and the naval Mariner rescue aircraft sent to 
search for Flight 19, and it honors the memory of those 27 Navy airmen 
lost in the disappearance.
  As the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann Davis) said a moment 
ago, on December 5, 1945, at approximately 2:10 p.m. a squadron of TBM 
Avenger torpedo bombers departed from Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale 
in Florida on the first leg of a routine exercise. The five-plane 
formation turned east and headed out over the Atlantic Ocean and 
subsequently disappeared off the coast of Florida. A 13-man crew of a 
PBM Mariner was sent out to search for the men of Flight 19, and they 
too never returned from the area commonly known as the Bermuda 
Triangle.
  The disappearance of the five Avengers and the Mariner resulted in 
one of the largest air and sea searches in history. Hundreds of ships 
and aircraft combed 200,000 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean and the 
Gulf of Mexico, while search parties on land looked for evidence on the 
off chance that the aircraft may have gone down undetected. Nothing was 
ever found. No wreckage, no evidence was left of the fate of these six 
airplanes.
  Flight 19, Mr. Speaker, became the Lost Patrol and has been 
associated with myths of mysterious disappearances of ships and 
airplanes with the legendary Bermuda Triangle. According to the 
official board of inquiry, the mission was an overwater navigation 
training hop composed of an instructor, four naval aviators undergoing 
advanced training, and nine enlisted aircrew, except for one, who were 
all undergoing advanced combat aircrew training.
  The flight, Mr. Speaker, was entitled Navigation Problem Number 1, 
which departed Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale on a triangular route 
with a brief stop for some glide bombing practice on the first leg out. 
The weather for the area was described as favorable. The planes were 
thoroughly pre-flighted. All survival gear was intact. Fuel tanks were 
full. Instruments were checked, but none of the aircraft had a clock.
  While Flight 19 remains one of America's most enduring, unsolved 
mysteries, some facts are known. Flight 19's departure from Naval Air 
Station Fort Lauderdale was led by one of the students. At some point 
the instructor, Fox Tare, 28, took the lead after the flight turned 
north on the second leg, thinking that his students were on the wrong 
heading. While the instructor was familiar with the Florida Keys, with 
both compasses out and with evidently no concept of time, he could have 
mistaken the cays of the Northern Bahamas for the Keys and the water 
beyond for the Gulf of Mexico.
  Toward that end, the favorable weather of low ceiling and daytime 10-
mile visibility were replaced by rain squalls and by turbulence and 
darkness of winter night. Terrific winds were encountered, and the calm 
sea now ran rough. Although no one can officially say what truly 
happened to Flight 19, former TBM pilots have expressed the opinion 
that an Avenger attempting to ditch at night in a heavy sea would 
almost certainly not survive the crash.
  Recently, Mr. Speaker, there has been a renewed focus on solving this 
continuing mystery. Hopefully, this new investigation into the events 
on December 5, 1945, will result in concrete evidence as to the fate of 
Flight 19 and the PBM Mariner and will bring closure to the families 
who lost their loved ones on that fateful day.
  Mr. Speaker, I again want to commend my colleague on this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as 
he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw), the author of 
this resolution and a distinguished member of the Ways and Means 
Committee.
  Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, the Bermuda Triangle Flight 19 is one of the 
great mysteries of south Florida. There are those that will stand and 
look out to sea and say there is something strange out there, because 
it was on December 5, 1945, when 27 families experienced excruciating 
losses of their loved ones and this Nation lost 27 of its bravest and 
most dedicated Americans. While the events that tragic day may go 
unexplained, and they are still unexplained to this date, the memory of 
those men will not go unrecognized.
  I am proud to sponsor H. Res. 500, which recognizes the 60th 
anniversary of the disappearance of the five naval Avenger torpedo 
bombers of Flight 19 and the naval Mariner rescue aircraft sent to 
search for Flight 19. These 27 men have the thanks of a grateful 
Nation.
  At this time I would like to pause for a moment and read the names of 
the men who disappeared with Flight 19 and the naval Mariner rescue 
crew: Flight 19 crew headed by Charles Taylor, Forrest J. Gerber, 
Edward Joseph Powers, Walter Reed, George Francis Devlin, Herman 
Thelander, Burt Baluk, Robert Peter Gruebel, Robert Gallivan, Howell 
Thompson, George Paonessa, William Lightfoot, George Stivers, Joseph 
Bossi.
  This is the Mariner crew: Walter Jeffrey, Harrie Cone, Charles 
Arcenaux, Roger Allen, Lloyd Eliason, Alfred Zywicki, James Osterheld, 
John Menendez, Philip Neeman, James Jordan, Robert Cameron, Wiley 
Cargill, Donald Peterson. Their memories are lodged in the hearts of 
their loved ones who might survive them today.
  I too would join with the ranking member on this particular bill to 
say that I do hope this mystery will finally be solved, because in 
south Florida this is still one of the great mysteries, what went on on 
December 5, 1945, and the Bermuda Triangle that caused so many to 
perish and so many aircraft.
  Mr. Speaker, may God bless the families of these American heroes.
  Mr. SPRATT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 500, a 
resolution to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the disappearance of 
the Navy's Flight 19 in the Bermuda Triangle on December 5, 1945. Every 
schoolkid in America knows the Bermuda Triangle as a place of ghost 
stories and mystery--a place where whole ships and airplanes literally 
disappear without a trace. Rumors abound about the cause of these 
disappearances, ranging from mechanical failures to irregular magnetic 
field activity to extraterrestrial abduction. No mystery from the 
``Devil's Triangle'' has more captured the attention or imagination of 
America than the ill-fated journey of Navy Flight 19.

[[Page 26367]]

  At 2:10 p.m. on December 5, 1945, Flight 19, a squadron of five Navy 
Avenger TBM Torpedo Bombers, took off from Fort Lauderdale for a 
training run that took them into the heart of the Bermuda Triangle. The 
weather was cooperative and the water was calm, which was deemed lucky 
for a squadron where only one of the 14 airmen, Lt. Charles Taylor, had 
combat flight experience. Nonetheless, midway through the mission, Lt. 
Taylor became disoriented, claiming his compasses had stopped working, 
a curious phenomenon in an area known for erratic magnetic activity. 
Thinking himself over the Florida Keys, Lt. Taylor pointed his squadron 
Northeast in an attempt to return them to land. Unfortunately, the 
squadron was over the Bahamas to the east of Florida instead of over 
the Keys, so their continued northeasterly journey actually took them 
further out to sea. At 7:04 p.m., the last radio contact was made by 
Taylor, when he reportedly uttered ``everything is wrong . . . strange 
. . . the ocean doesn't look as it should'' and ``They look like 
they're from outer space--don't come after me.'' After this 
communication, Flight 19 was never heard from again.
  This kicked off a massive search spanning 250,000 square miles of 
ocean. As part of this search, two additional aircraft known as Martin 
Mariners, were deployed by the Navy to patrol and look for wreckage. 
With no indication of difficulty, one of these Martin Mariners failed 
to meet at a scheduled rendezvous point, and was never heard from 
again. No sign of the Mariner or the Flight 19 Avengers has ever been 
found. Roger Allen from Sumter, South Carolina, in my district, was one 
crew member on the missing Mariner whose fate has yet to be discovered.
  H. Res. 500 takes the laudable step of commemorating the 60th 
anniversary of the disappearance of Flight 19 and the naval Mariner 
rescue aircraft and honoring the memory of the 27 Navy airmen lost on 
these flights. It also acknowledges the continuing efforts to determine 
what caused these disappearances so we can provide answers and closure 
to the families of the airmen who were lost. I commend the fascinating 
and haunting tale of Flight 19 to anyone interested in the mystery of 
the Bermuda Triangle, and I join Congressman Shaw in urging my 
colleagues to support H. Res. 500.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 
500, recognizing the 60th anniversary the disappearance of five Avenger 
warplanes and one of the rescue aircraft sent to retrieve the lost 
pilots. The six planes flying out of the Naval Air Station of Banana 
River on December 5, 1945 contained a total of 27 men. These brave men 
have never been recovered. Their planes and all of their equipment have 
never been found, either.
  As an interesting point, the disappearance of the planes happened 
somewhere off the eastern coast of Florida. The strange disappearance 
of these aircraft was the first incident in the lore of what became the 
story of the Bermuda Triangle. To date, the incident which we are 
acknowledging today is still the most cited example of strange 
occurrences in the Bermuda Triangle.
  Mr. Speaker, we should remember the bravery of these 27 men by 
acknowledging the anniversary of their disappearance. It is a tragedy 
that for so many years, the cause of the disappearance has remained 
unknown, leaving the families of the fallen pilots without answers.
  For over 225 years, the freedom of America has been maintained by the 
fighting men and women of our Nation's Armed Forces. These courageous 
soldiers, sailors and marines put their lives on the line every day to 
preserve the safety and security of our Nation. In honoring the 27 men 
lost on December 5, 1945, we also honor the hundreds of thousands of 
men and women of America's Armed Forces whose heroic actions go 
unheralded every day.
  In passing this resolution, we also honor the families of the fallen 
pilots, whose sacrifices on behalf of our country will never be 
forgotten.
  I strongly support H. Res. 500, and I encourage my colleagues to do 
the same.
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I have no further 
requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann Davis) that the House suspend 
the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 500, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas 
and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will 
be postponed.

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