[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6483]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              PAYING TRIBUTE TO LT. COL. JOHN MEIERDIERCK

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JON C. PORTER

                               of nevada

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 27, 2006

  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor retired United States 
Air Force Lieutenant Colonel John Henry ``Hank'' Meierdierck, who 
passed away, in Las Vegas on March 21, 2006, at the age of 84.
  Hank was born April 13, 1921, in Newark, New Jersey, the son of John 
Henry Meierdierck and Ida Getto Meierdierck. Hank married Mildred Marie 
Giles in 1943. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II and 
remained in the U.S. Air Force after the war, amassing over 7,000 
flying hours in more than 50 different aircraft. Hank retired from the 
USAF as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1964. He then went to work for the CIA 
at headquarters, Langley, VA. He did a significant number of the 
original experimental flight tests on the U-2 airplane and the SR-71 
airplane at the Nevada Test Site. Because of this work he was awarded 
the Distinguished Flying Cross. Then later, in 2005, Hank was awarded 
the Agency Seal Medallion from the Central Intelligence Agency for his 
leadership in developing the U-2. He was also authorized to wear the 
Air Medal, the European Area Medal with three Battle Stars, the World 
War II Victory Medal; the American Medal; the Air Force Reserve Medal; 
the AFOUA Medal; the Korean War Medal; and the AFLSA Medal with four 
Brass Oak Leaf Clusters.
  Hank and his wife moved to Las Vegas, in 1970. They traveled 
extensively to wherever the fish are biting or the sun is shining. Hank 
considered himself a very good fisherman, and would want to be 
remembered as much for that as his military career. In retirement, Hank 
was a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and was very 
active and served as president of the Roadrunners Internationale, an 
affiliation of employees who were previously associated with the U-2 
and SR-71 programs at Area 51. He was also honorary chairman of the 
Heroes of the Cold War Memorial and organized many military unit 
reunions. Hank is survived by his wife, Millie; two daughters, Gail and 
Victoria; one son, Jay; and 5 grandchildren.

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