[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17660]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE LIFE OF ALBERTA KINNEY

  (Mr. LEE of New York asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. LEE of New York. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to the 
life of Alberta Kinney, an Amherst, New York, resident who answered the 
Nation's call to service during World War II.
  In 1944, Alberta became part of the first group of women to fly 
military aircraft for the United States. The primary mission of the 
Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP as they came to be known, was to 
fly noncombat military missions so that their male counterparts could 
be deployed to combat.
  The WASP did much more than fulfill wartime needs, overcoming 
significant hurdles to carry the torch for Amelia Earhart and pass it 
on to Sally Ride.
  Last month, after the President signed into law a measure that honors 
Alberta and her fellow WASP with a Congressional Gold Medal, it was our 
hope that she would be able to travel to Washington in the near future 
to take part in a ceremony commemorating this honor. But sadly, Alberta 
passed away this past Friday evening.
  On behalf of the people of western New York, I extend my deepest 
sympathies to Alberta's loved ones and ask the House to join me in 
honoring this distinguished member of the Greatest Generation.

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