[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 14544]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




HONORING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE STEPHEN DARIUS AND STANLEY GIRENAS 
                         TRANS-ATLANTIC FLIGHT

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                          HON. DANIEL LIPINSKI

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 9, 2008

  Mr. LIPINSKI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor two aviation 
pioneers, Stephen Darius and Stanley Girenas, on the 75th Anniversary 
of their historic trans-Atlantic flight that began at Municipal 
Airport--since renamed Midway Airport--which is located in Illinois' 
Third Congressional District on Chicago's Southwest Side.
  Inspired by witnessing Charles A. Lindbergh's historic flight from 
New York to Paris, Stephen Darius returned home to Chicago after 
serving his country in World War I determined to fly non-stop across 
the Atlantic. In Chicago he met Stanley Girenas, a former Army airplane 
mechanic. Sharing a common Lithuanian heritage and military background, 
Darius proposed a first ever non-stop flight from New York to Kaunas, 
Lithuania. Girenas liked the idea and agreed to be Darius' co-pilot.
  Securing adequate funding for their flight was especially difficult 
during the Great Depression. The two men pooled their savings and 
purchased a used six passenger airplane that required extensive repairs 
and modifications. Representatives of Chicago's Lithuanian community 
came to the aid of Darius and Girenas and formed a Flight Sponsors 
Committee in order to raise the necessary funds. The Committee raised 
approximately $4,200 to support the flight, a monumental sum in 1932.
  Darius and Girenas embarked on the first leg of their journey from 
Chicago to New York on May 7th, 1933, on their newly christened 
airplane, the LITUANICA. After various weather and organizational 
delays, the two men took off from New York bound for Lithuania on July 
15th, carrying a large bag of letters destined for friends and family 
in Kaunas. Sadly, their plane was lost over the town of Soldin, 
Germany, 70 miles northeast of Berlin due to heavy storms, and they 
never reached Lithuania.
  It is my great privilege to recognize Stephen Darius and Stanley 
Girenas for their historic trans-Atlantic flight and their 
contributions to early aviation, to the American Lithuanian community, 
to Chicago--which has the largest Lithuanian community outside of 
Lithuania, and to the United States and Lithuania.

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