[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12839]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING COLONEL WILLIAM W. MOORE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DOUG LAMBORN

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 31, 2013

  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Colonel William W. 
Moore's posthumous awarding of the Prisoner of War Medal. He was held 
captive by Chinese forces for 33 months during the Korean War.
  Col. Moore began his military career by joining the Army Air Corps in 
1942 and graduated flight school in 1944. He was assigned to Wheeler 
Field in Oahu, Hawaii for deployment, but World War II ended before he 
got to fly any missions. His next assignment was at Eglin Air Force 
Base near Ft. Walton, Florida where he served as a test pilot. While 
stationed there he was able to fly up to five fighters in one day.
  He was then assigned to 7th Fighter Squadron in the 49th Fighter 
Group in South Korea. While on temporary duty as a Forward Air 
Controller, he was taken captive when his vehicle was ambushed by 
Chinese forces. Col. Moore liked to make clear that he was ``captured 
out of his element'' on the ground rather than being shot out of the 
sky.
  While in captivity, he was determined to stay alive and return home 
to his wife and sons; remaining active and trying to eat everything he 
could, helped to save his life. The prisoners were marched at night 
when it was -40 deg. in the snow up North, and they secretly stole as 
much wood and coal as they could find to keep themselves warm when they 
rested during the day. When they arrived at the camp, Col. Moore was 
elected by the other prisoners to be the cook, a position he held the 
entire time of his captivity.
  While in the camp the Chinese tried to reeducate the captured 
Americans, holding classes to teach them the ``truth'' about America. 
The Americans resisted everything they could through subtle tactics 
such as retelling the landing of Pilgrims and other stories of history 
with humor and distorting facts to maintain a healthy morale for the 
prisoners. They also tried to attend all of the church services so as 
to annoy their communist captors.
  When the Armistice was signed in 1953, Col. Moore was finally 
released from captivity and reunited with his family. After the war he 
was assigned to the 94th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, where he flew 
the F-86D and F-102. In 1958, he was promoted to the rank of Major and 
assigned to the Air Defense Tactical Evaluation Team at Air Defense 
Command Headquarters in Colorado Springs, CO. While with the ADC he 
wrote the training and flying manual for the F-106. His next assignment 
took the new Lt. Col. to Australia to join the RAAF Operational Command 
as the Chief of Fighter Operations.
  In 1964, the Air Force sent him to the Pentagon where he was the F-5 
plans officer in the Military Assistance Program where he was promoted 
to full Colonel. He selflessly volunteered to go to Vietnam, but only 
if he could fly; instead he was given command of the 27th Fighter 
Interceptor Squadron in Loring, Maine. As commander of a fighter 
squadron, with over 400 men and 18 aircraft, Col. Moore flourished. His 
last assignment took him to Murphy Dome, Alaska where he was the base 
commander for a radar unit.
  After 30 years of a full career in the Air Force, Col. Moore retired 
in 1972 to Colorado Springs, CO. He and his wife, Lila, had four boys 
they raised as they moved all around the country. Col. Moore and Lila 
were married for 60 years before she passed away. He then remarried his 
wife of 10 years, Bonnie. He was a devoted family man who enjoyed 
fishing, camping and hunting with his sons.
  While he was in captivity for 33 months, Col. Moore did not let that 
define his life or his career. He continued to look at the positives 
and strive for the best, yet gained a lot of perspective on life while 
a prisoner. He was a man who selflessly did not call attention to the 
fact he was accidently not awarded the POW medal when he returned from 
Korea, instead his loving wife, Bonnie, sought to honor him by 
correcting that error. I am truly humbled and offer my sincerest thanks 
to Col. Moore and his family for their selfless service to our nation.

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