[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 6674-6675]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 COMMEMORATING COLONEL CHARLES E. McGEE FOR HIS OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO 
                              OUR COUNTRY

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                          HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 9, 2013

  Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join the Columbia College 
Alumni Association in my home state of Missouri in recognizing one of 
the College's most prestigious alumni. Colonel Charles McGee is among 
the most decorated and accomplished Air Force aviators, holding an Air 
Force record of 409 fighter combat missions flown in World War II, 
Korea and Vietnam. He has also served as a former public servant to the 
Kansas City area. I am proud to know Colonel McGee and applaud him for 
his invaluable service and contributions to the Air Force, Kansas City, 
and to our country.
   Charles E. McGee was one of the renowned Tuskegee Airmen of World 
War II and continued as a career officer in the United States Air Force 
for 30 years. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 7, 1919, and 
as a youth, Charles was a member of the Boy Scouts of America and 
earned the Eagle Scout award on August 9, 1940. He later served in 
district and regional positions in the Boy Scouts. At the 2010 National 
Scout Jamboree, he was recognized with the Distinguished Eagle Scout 
Award.
   During the Vietnam war, as a Lt. Colonel, McGee flew 172 combat 
missions in a McDonnell RF-4 photo-reconnaissance aircraft. After a 
series of other appointments both in the United States as well as in 
Italy and Germany, and promotion to Colonel, McGee retired on January 
31, 1973. He ended his military career with an impressive 6,308 flying 
hours. Following his military service, Col. McGee has held many 
prestigious functional and honorary positions within the field of 
aviation.
   In 1978, at the age of 58, he completed his college degree at 
Columbia College in Kansas City, over thirty years after his initial 
enrollment at the University of Illinois. Though interrupted by World 
War II, attaining a college degree had been a lifelong goal. I am 
honored to have the opportunity to congratulate Colonel McGee for this 
great achievement and am proud that he chose to complete his studies 
and continue his impressive career in the great State of Missouri.
   In his civilian life, Charles served as the Director of the Kansas 
City downtown airport and as a member of the Aviation Advisory 
Commission. For 30 years, he has been an ambassador of the Tuskegee 
Airmen, Inc., serving three times as national President and giving 
numerous public addresses and has received accolades including the 
National Aeronautical Associations ``Elder Statesman of Aviation.''
   In 2005, Col. McGee was part of a group of former Tuskegee Airmen, 
who flew to Balad, Iraq, to speak to active duty airmen serving in the 
332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, the current incarnation of the 332nd 
Fighter Group.
   Colonel McGee has been recognized for his combat and military 
service with a number of awards including: Distinguished Flying Cross 
with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Legion of Merit with one Oak Leaf Cluster, 
Bronze Star, Air Medal with 25 Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation 
Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, Korean Presidential Unit Citation, 
Hellenic Republic World War II Commemorative Medal along with related 
campaign and service ribbons.
   In 2007, President George Bush awarded him and the surviving 
Tuskegee Airmen the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, the nation's 
highest civilian award, and in 2011, he was inducted into the National 
Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio.
   I am honored to join Columbia College in celebrating Colonel Charles 
McGee's accomplishments and service, from which we have all greatly 
benefited. I want to thank Colonel McGee for the lives he has touched 
and his leadership in the field of aviation, in our military, and in 
his community.

[[Page 6675]]



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