[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5250-5251]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING THE DOOLITTLE RAIDERS

  (Mr. OLSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to salute the Doolittle Raiders. 
Seventy-one years ago this Thursday, 16 Army bombers took off from the 
flight deck of an aircraft carrier, the USS Hornet. The Hornet was 
spotted by the Japanese hundreds of miles before their intended launch 
point. Led by Colonel Doolittle, all 16 bombers were launched, knowing 
that they would not have the fuel for safe shelter and they would crash 
land in enemy territory. A short 4 months after Pearl Harbor, these 
heroes bombed Tokyo and sent a message to the world that America would 
win World War II. Eighty pilots took off that day. Four of them are

[[Page 5251]]

still alive. They had their last reunion this week.
  I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 1209, which will give a 
Congressional Gold Medal to the Doolittle Raiders and give them one 
final honor before their final flight home.

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