[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10815]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING LAURINBURG-MAXTON ARMY AIR BASE

  (Mr. PITTENGER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTENGER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the Laurinburg-
Maxton Army Air Base in Scotland County, North Carolina, which played a 
vital but little-known role in World War II.
  From 1942 to 1945, Scotland County helped prepare glider pilots for 
the invasions of North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. Generals Dwight 
Eisenhower and George Marshall visited the base during the war to 
observe glider training.
  On June 6, 1944, when more than 160,000 Allied troops landed during 
the Invasion of Normandy, glider pilots trained in Scotland County were 
among the vanguard as American soldiers silently soared down the French 
coastline through the thick fog powered only by the prevailing winds.
  The brave glider pilots who trained at Laurinburg-Maxton Air Base 
helped secure Allied victory on D-day. Today I ask you to join me in 
honoring those soldiers as well as the Scotland County community, which 
supported these efforts.

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