113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 309 

AN ACT 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the World War 

II members of the Civil Air Patrol. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) The unpaid volunteer members of the Civil 

4 Air Patrol (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 

5 ‘‘CAP’’) during World War II provided extraor6 dinary humanitarian, combat, and national services 

7 during a critical time of need for the Nation. 

8 (2) During the war, CAP members used their 

9 own aircraft to perform a myriad of essential tasks 

10 for the military and the Nation within the United 

11 States, including attacks on enemy submarines off 

12 the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United 

13 States. 

14 (3) This extraordinary national service set the 

15 stage for the post-war CAP to become a valuable 

16 nonprofit, public service organization chartered by 

17 Congress and designated the Auxiliary of the United 

18 States Air Force that provides essential emergency, 

19 operational, and public services to communities, 

20 States, the Federal Government, and the military. 

21 (4) The CAP was established on December 1, 

22 1941, initially as a part of the Office of Civil De23 fense, by air-minded citizens one week before the 

24 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, out of the 

25 desire of civil airmen of the country to be mobilized 
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1 with their equipment in the common defense of the 

2 Nation. 

3 (5) Within days of the start of the war, the 

4 German Navy started a massive submarine offensive, 

5 known as Operation Drumbeat, off the east coast of 

6 the United States against oil tankers and other crit7 ical shipping that threatened the overall war effort. 

8 (6) Neither the Navy nor the Army had enough 

9 aircraft, ships, or other resources to adequately pa10 trol and protect the shipping along the Atlantic and 

11 Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, and 

12 many ships were torpedoed and sunk, often within 

13 sight of civilians on shore, including 52 tankers sunk 

14 between January and March 1942. 

15 (7) At that time General George Marshall re16 marked that ‘‘[t]he losses by submarines off our At17 lantic seaboard and in the Caribbean now threaten 

18 our entire war effort’’. 

19 (8) From the beginning CAP leaders urged the 

20 military to use its services to patrol coastal waters 

21 but met with great resistance because of the non22 military status of CAP civilian pilots. 

23 (9) Finally, in response to the ever-increasing 

24 submarine attacks, the Tanker Committee of the Pe25 troleum Industry War Council urged the Navy De-
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1 partment and the War Department to consider the 

2 use of the CAP to help patrol the sea lanes off the 

3 coasts of the United States. 

4 (10) While the Navy initially rejected this sug5 gestion, the Army decided it had merit, and the Civil 

6 Air Patrol Coastal Patrol began in March 1942. 

7 (11) Oil companies and other organizations pro8 vided funds to help pay for some CAP operations, 

9 including vitally needed shore radios that were used 

10 to monitor patrol missions. 

11 (12) By late March 1942, the Navy also began 

12 to use the services of the CAP. 

13 (13) Starting with 3 bases located in Delaware, 

14 Florida, and New Jersey, CAP aircrews (ranging in 

15 age from 18 to over 80) immediately started to spot 

16 enemy submarines as well as lifeboats, bodies, and 

17 wreckage. 

18 (14) Within 15 minutes of starting his patrol 

19 on the first Coastal Patrol flight, a pilot had sighted 

20 a torpedoed tanker and was coordinating rescue op21 erations. 

22 (15) Eventually 21 bases, ranging from Bar 

23 Harbor, Maine, to Brownsville, Texas, were set up 

24 for the CAP to patrol the Atlantic and Gulf of Mex-
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1 ico coasts of the United States, with 40,000 volun2 teers eventually participating. 

3 (16) The CAP used a wide range of civilian4 owned aircraft, mainly light-weight, single-engine 

5 aircraft manufactured by Cessna, Beech, Waco, 

6 Fairchild, Stinson, Piper, Taylorcraft, and Sikorsky, 

7 among others, as well as some twin engine aircraft, 

8 such as the Grumman Widgeon. 

9 (17) Most of these aircraft were painted in 

10 their civilian prewar colors (red, yellow, or blue, for 

11 example) and carried special markings (a blue circle 

12 with a white triangle) to identify them as CAP air13 craft. 

14 (18) Patrols were conducted up to 100 miles off 

15 shore, generally with 2 aircraft flying together, in 

16 aircraft often equipped with only a compass for navi17 gation and a single radio for communication. 

18 (19) Due to the critical nature of the situation, 

19 CAP operations were conducted in bad weather as 

20 well as good, often when the military was unable to 

21 fly, and in all seasons, including the winter, when 

22 ditching an aircraft in cold water would likely mean 

23 certain death to the aircrew. 

24 (20) Personal emergency equipment was often 

25 lacking, particularly during early patrols where inner 
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1 tubes and kapok duck hunter vests were carried as 

2 flotation devices, since ocean worthy wet suits, life 

3 vests, and life rafts were unavailable. 

4 (21) The initial purpose of the Coastal Patrol 

5 was to spot submarines, report their position to the 

6 military, and force them to dive below the surface, 

7 which limited their operating speed and maneuver8 ability and reduced their ability to detect and attack 

9 shipping, because attacks against shipping were con10 ducted while the submarines were surfaced. 

11 (22) It immediately became apparent that there 

12 were opportunities for CAP pilots to attack sub13 marines, such as when a Florida CAP aircrew came 

14 across a surfaced submarine that quickly stranded 

15 itself on a sand bar. However, the aircrew could not 

16 get any assistance from armed military aircraft be17 fore the submarine freed itself. 

18 (23) Finally, after several instances when the 

19 military could not respond in a timely manner, a de20 cision was made by the military to arm CAP aircraft 

21 with 50- and 100-pound bombs, and to arm some 

22 larger twin-engine aircraft with 325-pound depth 

23 charges. 

24 (24) The arming of CAP aircraft dramatically 

25 changed the mission for these civilian aircrews and 
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1 resulted in more than 57 attacks on enemy sub2 marines. 

3 (25) While CAP volunteers received $8 a day 

4 flight reimbursement for costs incurred, their patrols 

5 were accomplished at a great economic cost to many 

6 CAP members who— 

7 (A) used their own aircraft and other 

8 equipment in defense of the Nation; 

9 (B) paid for much of their own aircraft 

10 maintenance and hangar use; and 

11 (C) often lived in the beginning in primi12 tive conditions along the coast, including old 

13 barns and chicken coops converted for sleeping. 

14 (26) More importantly, the CAP Coastal Patrol 

15 service came at the high cost of 26 fatalities, 7 seri16 ous injuries, and 90 aircraft lost. 

17 (27) At the conclusion of the 18-month Coastal 

18 Patrol, the heroic CAP aircrews would be credited 

19 with— 

20 (A) 2 submarines possibly damaged or de21 stroyed; 

22 (B) 57 submarines attacked; 

23 (C) 82 bombs dropped against submarines; 
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1 (D) 173 radio reports of submarine posi2 tions (with a number of credited assists for kills 

3 made by military units); 

4 (E) 17 floating mines reported; 

5 (F) 36 dead bodies reported; 

6 (G) 91 vessels in distress reported; 

7 (H) 363 survivors in distress reported; 

8 (I) 836 irregularities noted; 

9 (J) 1,036 special investigations at sea or 

10 along the coast; 

11 (K) 5,684 convoy missions as aerial escorts 

12 for Navy ships; 

13 (L) 86,685 total missions flown; 

14 (M) 244,600 total flight hours logged; and 

15 (N) more than 24,000,000 total miles 

16 flown. 

17 (28) It is believed that at least one high-level 

18 German Navy Officer credited CAP as one reason 

19 that submarine attacks moved away from the United 

20 States when he concluded that ‘‘[i]t was because of 

21 those damned little red and yellow planes!’’. 

22 (29) The CAP was dismissed from coastal mis23 sions with little thanks in August 1943 when the 

24 Navy took over the mission completely and ordered 

25 CAP to stand down. 
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1 (30) While the Coastal Patrol was ongoing, 

2 CAP was also establishing itself as a vital wartime 

3 service to the military, States, and communities na4 tionwide by performing a wide range of missions in5 cluding, among others— 

6 (A) border patrol; 

7 (B) forest and fire patrols; 

8 (C) military courier flights for mail, repair 

9 and replacement parts, and urgent military de10 liveries; 

11 (D) emergency transportation of military 

12 personnel; 

13 (E) target towing (with live ammunition 

14 being fired at the targets and seven lives being 

15 lost) and searchlight tracking training missions; 

16 (F) missing aircraft and personnel 

17 searches; 

18 (G) air and ground search and rescue for 

19 missing aircraft and personnel; 

20 (H) radar and aircraft warning system 

21 training flights; 

22 (I) aerial inspections of camouflaged mili23 tary and civilian facilities; 

24 (J) aerial inspections of city and town 

25 blackout conditions; 
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1 (K) simulated bombing attacks on cities 

2 and facilities to test air defenses and early 

3 warning; 

4 (L) aerial searches for scrap metal mate5 rials; 

6 (M) river and lake patrols, including aerial 

7 surveys for ice in the Great Lakes; 

8 (N) support of war bond drives; 

9 (O) management and guard duties at hun10 dreds of airports; 

11 (P) support for State and local emer12 gencies such as natural and manmade disasters; 

13 (Q) predator control; 

14 (R) rescue of livestock during floods and 

15 blizzards; 

16 (S) recruiting for the Army Air Force; 

17 (T) initial flight screening and orientation 

18 flights for potential military recruits; 

19 (U) mercy missions, including the airlift of 

20 plasma to central blood banks; 

21 (V) nationwide emergency communications 

22 services; and 

23 (W) a cadet youth program which provided 

24 aviation and military training for tens of thou25 sands. 
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1 (31) The CAP flew more than 500,000 hours 

2 on these additional missions, including— 

3 (A) 20,500 missions involving target tow4 ing (with live ammunition) and gun/searchlight 

5 tracking which resulted in 7 deaths, 5 serious 

6 injuries, and the loss of 25 aircraft; 

7 (B) a courier service involving 3 major Air 

8 Force Commands over a 2-year period carrying 

9 more than 3,500,000 pounds of vital cargo and 

10 543 passengers; 

11 (C) southern border patrol flying more 

12 than 30,000 hours and reporting 7,000 unusual 

13 sightings including a vehicle (that was appre14 hended) with 2 enemy agents attempting to 

15 enter the country; 

16 (D) a week in February 1945 during which 

17 CAP units rescued seven missing Army and 

18 Navy pilots; and 

19 (E) a State in which the CAP flew 790 

20 hours on forest fire patrol missions and re21 ported 576 fires to authorities during a single 

22 year. 

23 (32) On April 29, 1943, the CAP was trans24 ferred to the Army Air Forces, thus beginning its 

25 long association with the United States Air Force. 
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1 (33) Hundreds of CAP-trained women pilots 

2 joined military women’s units including the Women’s 

3 Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) program. 

4 (34) Many members of the WASP program 

5 joined or rejoined the CAP during the post-war pe6 riod because it provided women opportunities to fly 

7 and continue to serve the Nation that were severely 

8 lacking elsewhere. 

9 (35) Due to the exceptional emphasis on safety, 

10 unit and pilot training and discipline, and the orga11 nization of the CAP, by the end of the war a total 

12 of only 64 CAP members had died in service and 

13 only 150 aircraft had been lost (including its Coastal 

14 Patrol losses from early in the war). 

15 (36) It is estimated that up to 100,000 civilians 

16 (including youth in its cadet program) participated 

17 in the CAP in a wide range of staff and operational 

18 positions, and that CAP aircrews flew a total of ap19 proximately 750,000 hours during the war, most of 

20 which were in their personal aircraft and often at 

21 risk to their lives. 

22 (37) After the war, at a CAP dinner for Con23 gress, a quorum of both Houses attended with the 

24 Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 

25 President thanking CAP for its service. 
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1 (38) While air medals were issued for some of 

2 those participating in the Coastal Patrol, little other 

3 recognition was forthcoming for the myriad of serv4 ices CAP volunteers provided during the war. 

5 (39) Despite some misguided efforts to end the 

6 CAP at the end of the war, the organization had 

7 proved its capabilities to the Nation and strength8 ened its ties with the Air Force and Congress. 

9 (40) In 1946, Congress chartered the CAP as 

10 a nonprofit, public service organization and in 1948 

11 made the CAP an Auxiliary of the United States Air 

12 Force. 

13 (41) Today, the CAP conducts many of the 

14 same missions it performed during World War II, 

15 including a vital role in homeland security. 

16 (42) The CAP’s wartime service was highly un17 usual and extraordinary, due to the unpaid civilian 

18 status of its members, the use of privately owned 

19 aircraft and personal funds by many of its members, 

20 the myriad of humanitarian and national missions 

21 flown for the Nation, and the fact that for 18 

22 months, during a time of great need for the United 

23 States, the CAP flew combat-related missions in 

24 support of military operations off the Atlantic and 

25 Gulf of Mexico coasts. 
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1 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

2 (a) AWARD.— 

3 (1) AUTHORIZED.—The President pro tempore 

4 of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Rep5 resentatives shall make appropriate arrangements 

6 for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a single 

7 gold medal of appropriate design in honor of the 

8 World War II members of the Civil Air Patrol collec9 tively, in recognition of the military service and ex10 emplary record of the Civil Air Patrol during World 

11 War II. 

12 (2) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes 

13 of the award referred to in paragraph (1), the Sec14 retary of the Treasury shall strike the gold medal 

15 with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to 

16 be determined by the Secretary. 

17 (3) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of 

19 the gold medal referred to in paragraph (1) in 

20 honor of all of its World War II members of the 

21 Civil Air Patrol, the gold medal shall be given 

22 to the Smithsonian Institution, where it shall be 

23 displayed as appropriate and made available for 

24 research. 

25 (B) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense 

26 of Congress that the Smithsonian Institution 
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1 should make the gold medal received under this 

2 paragraph available for display elsewhere, par3 ticularly at other locations associated with the 

4 Civil Air Patrol. 

5 (b) DUPLICATE MEDALS.—Under such regulations 

6 as the Secretary may prescribe, the Secretary may strike 

7 and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck 

8 under this Act, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of 

9 the medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of machin10 ery, and overhead expenses, and amounts received from 

11 the sale of such duplicates shall be deposited in the United 

12 States Mint Public Enterprise Fund. 

13 (c) NATIONAL MEDALS.—Medals struck pursuant to 

14 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 

15 of title 31, United States Code. 

Passed the Senate May 20, 2013. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 309 

AN ACT 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the World 

War II members of the Civil Air Patrol.