[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2344]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                         LEAVE NO SAILOR BEHIND

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARK STEVEN KIRK

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 15, 2008

  Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, today I introduced a resolution calling on 
the Department of Defense, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the National 
Science Foundation to support a mission to recover the remains of three 
naval aviators in Antarctica.
  On December 30, 1946, a Navy aircraft participating in Operation 
Highjump over Antarctica crashed, killing three of the nine on board. 
Among those killed in the crash of the ``George One,'' as the seaplane 
was known, was Radioman Wendell Hendersin, the brother of Betty Jean 
Spencer of Mundelein, Illinois.
  Along with the other casualties, Hendersin was buried in a common 
grave near the crash site. Although the survivors held a small service, 
Hendersin never received a proper burial.
  After 2 weeks stranded on the ice, the survivors were rescued, but 
the remains of the three Americans were never recovered. At the time, 
servicemembers killed overseas were usually buried abroad. Due to the 
risks involved at the time, the Navy decided against undertaking a 
recovery mission. In the 61 years that have passed, Department of 
Defense policy changed and technology now makes a recovery operation 
likely to succeed at lower risk.
  Thanks to the efforts of the U.S. Geological Survey, the location of 
the George One is known. The USGS estimates that the wreckage is under 
about 165 feet of ice. With the location known and the technology in 
place to launch a successful recovery mission, the time has come to 
bring these brave naval aviators home.

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