IIA

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. J. RES. 36

Recognizing the late Bernt Balchen for his many contributions to the United

States and a lifetime of remarkable achievements on the centenary of

his birth, October 23, 1999.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 21, 1999

Mr. GRAMS introduced the following joint resolution; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

JOINT RESOLUTION

Recognizing the late Bernt Balchen for his many contributions to the United States and a lifetime of remarkable

achievements on the centenary of his birth, October 23,

1999.

Whereas Bernt Balchen, as co-pilot and navigator with Floyd

Bennett and under the sponsorship of Joseph Wanamaker, flew the Ford trimotor monoplane ‘‘Josephine

Ford’’ on a flying tour to more than 50 American cities

in 1926, thereby promoting commercial aviation as a

safe, reliable, and practical means of transport;

Whereas in 1927 Bernt Balchen, piloting the first flight to

carry United States mail over the Atlantic Ocean, flew

the aircraft ‘‘America’’ to France under weather conditions so adverse that he was forced to set the aircraft
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down in the surf off Normandy at night, a maneuver that

he executed so skillfully that he saved all on board the

aircraft;

Whereas on November 29, 1929, Bernt Balchen, while participating in the first expedition of Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd to Antarctica, became the first pilot to fly a

plane over the South Pole;

Whereas Bernt Balchen was indispensable to the success of

various American expeditions in Antarctica under the

leadership of Admiral Byrd and Lincoln Ellsworth;

Whereas Bernt Balchen, under secret conditions and in

record time, was responsible for building in Greenland in

the autumn of 1941 the air base Sondre Stromfjord, then

known as ‘‘Bluie West Eight’’, that was used for ferrying

warplanes to Europe;

Whereas Bernt Balchen, as commander of ‘‘Bluie West

Eight’’ between September 1941 and November 1943,

provided his personnel with training in cold weather survival skills and rescue techniques which enabled them to

carry out many spectacular rescues of downed airmen on

the Greenland icecap;

Whereas Bernt Balchen, on May 7, 1943, successfully led a

bombing raid that destroyed the sole German post in

Greenland, a weather station and antiaircraft battery on

the east coast of Greenland, thereby hindering the ability

of the German armed forces to predict weather patterns

in the North Atlantic and Europe;

Whereas Bernt Balchen, between March and December 1944,

commanded an air transport operation that safely evacuated from Sweden at least 2,000 Norwegians, 900 American internees, and 150 internees of other nationalities
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and transported strategic freight and numerous important diplomats and Armed Forces officers;

Whereas Bernt Balchen, between July and October 1944,

commanded a clandestine air transport operation that

transported 64 tons of operational supplies from Scotland

to occupied Norway in defiance of severe enemy opposition;

Whereas Bernt Balchen, between November 1944 and April

1945, commanded a clandestine air transport operation

that, again in defiance of severe enemy opposition, transported from England to Sweden 200 tons of arctic equipment and operational supplies that were used to make

clandestine overland transport from Sweden to Norway

possible;

Whereas Bernt Balchen, during the winter of 1945,

made C–47 aircraft under his command available to

transport into northern Norway the communications facilities that thereafter transmitted from Norway intelligence of inestimable value to the Allied Expeditionary

Force;

Whereas Bernt Balchen, as one of the founders of the Scandinavian Airlines System, pioneered commercial airline

flight over the North Pole, which increased business development in Alaska and shortened the flying time necessary for international flights between the United States

and points in Europe and Asia;

Whereas Bernt Balchen, from November 1948 to January

1951, commanded the 10th Rescue Squadron of the

United States Air Force, which was headquartered in

Alaska but ranged across the entire northern tier of

North America rescuing downed airmen, and led the
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squadron in the development of the techniques that are

now universally used in cold weather search and rescue

operations;

Whereas Bernt Balchen was the individual primarily responsible for the pioneering and development of the strategic

air base at Thule, Greenland, which was built secretly in

1951 under severe weather conditions and which, by extending the range of the Strategic Air Command, increased the capabilities that made the Strategic Air Command a significant deterrent to Soviet aggression during

the Cold War;

Whereas Bernt Balchen, as Assistant for Arctic Activities in

the Directorate of Operations of the United States Air

Force, rendered expert advice on the development of concepts, procedures, and programs pertaining to the Arctic

that have been consistently utilized by other agencies in

planning Arctic projects and operations of national and

international interest;

Whereas Bernt Balchen served brilliantly as an officer in the

United States Air Force and contributed immeasurably

to the mission of the Air Force and the security of the

United States;

Whereas the International Aviation Snow Symposium, of

which Bernt Balchen was a founder and honorary chairman, established in 1976 the Balchen Award that is presented annually to recognize excellence in the performance of airport snow and ice removal, is sought avidly by

the managers of airports of all categories in the United

States and Canada, and has successfully encouraged progressive improvement in cold weather airport safety and

air travel;
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Whereas the United States Government has awarded Bernt

Balchen the Byrd Antarctic Expedition Congressional

Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Legion of Merit, the Soldier’s

Medal, and the Air Medal, and other governments and

societies have awarded Bernt Balchen various other medals and awards in recognition of his patriotism and remarkable achievement in aviation;

Whereas Bernt Balchen, a native of Norway who became a

citizen of the United States on November 5, 1931, before

a Federal judge in Hackensack, New Jersey, and entered

the military service of the United States in the United

States Army Air Corps on September 5, 1941, at all

times furthered the cordial relationship between the

United States of America and the Kingdom of Norway,

one of America’s most-cherished allies;

Whereas Bernt Balchen was buried with full military honors

at Arlington National Cemetery on October 23, 1973;

and

Whereas October 23, 1999, is the 100th anniversary of the

birth of Bernt Balchen and is being observed as such in

many commemorative events taking place in the United

States and Norway: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 That the late Bernt Balchen is hereby recognized for his

4 extraordinary service to the United States, including the

5 national security.
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1 SEC. 2. The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit

2 an official copy of this joint resolution to the family of

3 Bernt Balchen.

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