Tom Harkin: “I will speak about S. 418, which we just passed. I thank all my colleagues for allowing it to go through on a unanimous…”

“I will speak about S. 418, which we just passed. I thank all my colleagues for allowing it to go through on a unanimous consent basis. This bill awards a Congressional Gold Medal to the World War II members of the Civil Air Patrol. I introduced this legislation last year, and it currently has 85 cosponsors. This legislation will offer long overdue recognition to a small group of people who answered the call to duty at our Nation's time of maximum danger. Seventy years ago, during the height of World War II, Civil Air Patrol members in small aircraft began searching for German U-boats off the Atlantic Coast. This was a time of great peril for the Nation when over 400 ships were sunk in U.S. waters, many in view of Americans on shore, and the military didn't have enough aircraft and ships to stop this carnage. That is why the Civil Air Patrol answered the call. Their mission was highly unusual because these pilots were civilian volunteers flying their own airplanes in combat operations, often at their own expense. The mission was for Civil Air Patrol aircraft to force the U-boats below the surface of the water, making their attacks on shipping much more difficult and time consuming. As soon as the Civil Air Patrol pilots took to the air, they spotted so many U-boats that the military quickly armed their aircraft with small bombs and depth charges.…”