II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3237 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the World War II members of 

the Civil Air Patrol. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 21, 2010 

Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. INOUYE, and Mr. CRAPO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress makes the following findings: 

5 (1) The volunteer members of the Civil Air Pa6 trol (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘CAP’’) 

7 during World War II, civilian men and women rang8 ing in age from 19 to 81, provided extraordinary 

9 public and combat services during a critical time of 

10 need for the Nation. 


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

2 own aircraft to perform a myriad of essential tasks 

3 for the military and the Nation within the United 

4 States, including attacks on enemy submarines off 

5 the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United 

6 States. 

7 (3) This extraordinary service set the stage for 

8 the post-war CAP to become a valuable nonprofit, 

9 public service organization chartered by Congress 

10 and the Auxiliary of the United States Air Force 

11 that provides essential emergency, operational, and 

12 public services to communities, States, the Federal 

13 Government, and the military. 

14 (4) The CAP was established, initially as a part 

15 of the Office of Civil Defense, by air-minded citizens 

16 one week before the surprise attack on Pearl Har17 bor, Hawaii, on December 1, 1941, ‘‘out of the de18 sire of civil airmen of the country to be mobilized 

19 with their equipment in the common defense’’ of the 

20 Nation. 

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

22 German Navy started a massive submarine offensive, 

23 known as Operation Drumbeat, off the east coast of 

24 the United States against oil tankers and other crit25 ical shipping that threatened the overall war effort. 


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

2 aircraft, ships, or other resources to adequately pa3 trol and protect the shipping along the Atlantic and 

4 Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, and 

5 many ships were torpedoed within sight of civilians 

6 on shore, including 52 tankers sunk between Janu7 ary and March 1942. 

8 (7) At that time General George Marshall re9 marked that ‘‘[t]he losses by submarines off our At10 lantic seaboard and in the Caribbean now threaten 

11 our entire war effort’’. 

12 (8) From the beginning CAP leaders urged the 

13 military to use its services to patrol coastal waters 

14 but met with great resistance because of the non15 military training and status of CAP pilots. 

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

17 submarine attacks, the Tanker Committee of the Pe18 troleum Industry War Council urged the Navy De19 partment and the War Department to consider the 

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

21 coasts of the United States. 

22 (10) While the Navy initially rejected this sug23 gestion, the Army decided it had merit, and the Civil 

24 Air Patrol Coastal Patrol began in March 1942. 


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1 (11) Oil companies and other organizations pro2 vided funds to help pay for some CAP operations, 

3 including vitally needed shore radios that were used 

4 to monitor patrol missions. 

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

6 to use the services of the CAP. 

7 (13) Starting with three bases located in Dela8 ware, Florida, and New Jersey, CAP aircrews imme9 diately started to spot enemy submarines as well as 

10 lifeboats, bodies, and wreckage. 

11 (14) Within 15 minutes of the first Coast Pa12 trol flight, the pilot had sighted a torpedoed tanker 

13 and was coordinating rescue operations. 

14 (15) Eventually 21 bases, ranging from Bar 

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

16 for the CAP to patrol the Atlantic and Gulf of Mex17 ico coasts of the United States, with 40,000 volun18 teers participating. 

19 (16) The CAP used a wide range of civilian20 owned aircraft, mainly light-weight, single engine 

21 aircraft—manufactured by Cessna, Beech, Waco, 

22 Fairchild, Stinson, Piper, Taylorcraft, and Sikorsky, 

23 among others—as well as some twin engine aircraft 

24 such as the Grumman Widgeon. 


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1 (17) These aircraft were painted in their civil2 ian prewar colors (red, yellow, blue, etc.) and carried 

3 special markings (a blue circle with a white triangle) 

4 to identify them as CAP aircraft. 

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

6 shore, generally with 2 aircraft flying together, in 

7 aircraft often equipped with only a compass for navi8 gation and a single radio for communication. 

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

10 CAP operations were conducted in bad weather as 

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

12 fly, and in all seasons (including the winter) when 

13 ditching an aircraft in cold water would likely mean 

14 certain death to the aircrew. 

15 (20) Personal emergency equipment was often 

16 lacking, particularly during early patrols where inner 

17 tubes and kapok duck hunter vests were carried as 

18 flotation devices since ocean worthy wet suits, life 

19 vests, and life rafts were unavailable. 

20 (21) The initial purpose of the CAP was to spot 

21 submarines, report their position to the military, and 

22 force them to dive below the surface, which limited 

23 their operating speed and maneuverability and re24 duced their ability to detect and attack shipping. 


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1 (22) It soon became apparent that there were 

2 opportunities for CAP pilots to attack submarines, 

3 such as when a Florida CAP aircrew came across a 

4 surfaced submarine that quickly stranded itself on a 

5 sand bar. However, the aircrew could not get any as6 sistance from armed military aircraft before the sub7 marine freed itself. 

8 (23) Finally, after a number of these instances, 

9 a decision was made by the military to arm CAP air10 craft with 50 and 100 pound bombs, and to arm 

11 some larger twin engine aircraft with 325 pound 

12 depth charges. 

13 (24) The arming of CAP aircraft dramatically 

14 changed the mission for these civilian aircrews and 

15 resulted in more than 57 attacks on enemy sub16 marines. 

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

18 flight reimbursement, their patrols were accom19 plished at a great economic cost to many of the 

20 members of the CAP who— 

21 (A) used their own aircraft and other 

22 equipment in defense of the Nation; 

23 (B) paid for much of their own aircraft 

24 maintenance and hangar use; and 


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1 (C) often lived in primitive conditions 

2 along the coast, including old barns and chicken 

3 coops converted for sleeping. 

4 (26) More importantly, the CAP Coastal Patrol 

5 service came at the high cost of 26 fatalities, 7 seri6 ous injuries, and 90 aircraft lost. 

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

8 Patrol, the heroic CAP aircrews would be credited 

9 with the following: 

10 (A) 2 submarines destroyed or damaged. 

11 (B) 57 submarines attacked. 

12 (C) 82 bombs dropped against submarines. 

13 (D) 173 radio reports of submarine posi14 tions (with a number of credited assists for kills 

15 made by military units). 

16 (E) 17 floating mines reported. 

17 (F) 36 dead bodies reported. 

18 (G) 91 vessels in distress reported. 

19 (H) 363 survivors in distress reported. 

20 (I) 836 irregularities noted. 

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

22 along the coast. 

23 (K) 5,684 convoy missions for the Navy. 

24 (L) 86,685 missions flown. 

25 (M) 244,600 total flight hours logged. 


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1 (N) More than 24,000,000 miles flown. 

2 (28) At least one high-level German Navy Offi3 cer credited the CAP with being the primary reason 

4 that submarine attacks were withdrawn from the At5 lantic coast of the United States in 1943 when he 

6 said that ‘‘[i]t was because of those damned little 

7 red and yellow planes!’’. 

8 (29) The CAP was dismissed from coastal mis9 sions with little thanks in August 1943 when the 

10 Navy took over the mission completely and ordered 

11 the CAP to stand down. 

12 (30) While the Coastal Patrol was ongoing, the 

13 CAP was also establishing itself as a vital wartime 

14 service to the military, States, and communities na15 tionwide by performing a wide range of missions in16 cluding— 

17 (A) border patrol; 

18 (B) forest fire patrol; 

19 (C) courier flights for mail, repair and re20 placement parts, and urgent deliveries; 

21 (D) emergency transportation of personnel; 

22 (E) target towing (with live ammunition 

23 being fired at the targets and seven lives being 

24 lost) and searchlight tracking training missions; 


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1 (F) missing aircraft and personnel 

2 searches; 

3 (G) rescue of aircraft crash survivors; 

4 (H) radar training flights; 

5 (I) aerial inspections of camouflaged mili6 tary and civilian facilities; 

7 (J) aerial inspections of city and town 

8 blackout conditions; 

9 (K) mock bombing attacks on cities and 

10 facilities to test air defenses; 

11 (L) aerial searches for scrap metal mate12 rials; 

13 (M) support of war bond drives; 

14 (N) airport guard duties; 

15 (O) support for State and local emer16 gencies such as natural disasters; 

17 (P) recruiting for the Army Air Force; and 

18 (Q) a cadet youth program which provided 

19 aviation and military training. 

20 (31) The CAP flew more than 500,000 hours 

21 on these additional missions, including— 

22 (A) 20,500 missions involving target tow23 ing (with live ammunition) and gun/searchlight 

24 tracking which resulted in 7 deaths, 5 serious 

25 injuries, and the loss of 25 aircraft; 


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1 (B) a courier service involving 3 major Air 

2 Force Commands over a 2-year period carrying 

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

4 543 passengers; 

5 (C) southern border operations flying more 

6 than 30,000 hours, with 7,000 reports of un7 usual sightings including a vehicle (that was ap8 prehended) with 2 enemy agents attempting to 

9 enter the country; 

10 (D) a week in February 1945 during which 

11 CAP units found seven missing Army and Navy 

12 pilots; and 

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

14 hours on forest fire patrol missions and re15 ported 576 fires to authorities during a single 

16 year. 

17 (32) On April 29, 1943, the CAP was trans18 ferred to the Army Air Forces, thus beginning its 

19 long association with the United States Air Force. 

20 (33) Hundreds of CAP-trained women joined 

21 military women’s units including the Women’s Air 

22 Force Service Pilots (WASP) program. 

23 (34) Many members of the Women’s Air Force 

24 Service Pilots program joined or rejoined the CAP 

25 during the post-war period because it provided 


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1 women opportunities to fly and continue to serve the 

2 Nation that were severely lacking elsewhere. 

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

4 unit discipline, and pilot discipline, and the organi5 zation of the CAP, by the end of the war only 64 

6 members of the CAP had died in service and only 

7 150 aircraft had been lost (including its Coastal Pa8 trol loses from early in the war). 

9 (36) It is estimated that more than 200,000 ci10 vilians were members of the CAP in wide range of 

11 positions and that CAP aircrews flew a total of ap12 proximately 750,000 hours during the war, most of 

13 which was in their personal aircraft and often at 

14 real risk to their lives. 

15 (37) After the war, at a CAP dinner for Con16 gress, a quorum of both Houses attended with the 

17 Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 

18 President thanking the CAP for its service. 

19 (38) While air medals were issued for those 

20 participating in the Coastal Patrol, little other rec21 ognition was forthcoming for those efforts or for the 

22 other services the CAP volunteers provided during 

23 the war. 

24 (39) Despite efforts to end the organization at 

25 the end of the war, the CAP had proved its capabiliVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:42 Apr 21, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3237.IS S3237

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1 ties and strengthened its ties with the Air Force and 

2 Congress. 

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

4 a nonprofit, public service organization and in 1948 

5 as the Auxiliary of the United States Air Force. 

6 (41) Today the CAP conducts many of the 

7 same missions it performed during World War II, 

8 including a vital role in homeland security. 

9 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

10 (a) AWARD.— 

11 (1) AUTHORIZED.—The President pro tempore 

12 of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Rep13 resentatives shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

15 gold medal of appropriate design in honor of the 

16 World War II members of the Civil Air Patrol collec17 tively, in recognition of the military service and ex18 emplary record of the Civil Air Patrol during Word 

19 War II. 

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

21 of the award referred to in paragraph (1), the Sec22 retary of the Treasury shall strike the gold medal 

23 with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to 

24 be determined by the Secretary. 

25 (3) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 


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

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

3 honor of the World War II members of the Civil 

4 Air Patrol, the gold medal shall be given to the 

5 Smithsonian Institution, where it shall be dis6 played as appropriate and made available for 

7 research. 

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

9 of Congress that the Smithsonian Institution 

10 should make the gold medal received under this 

11 paragraph available for display elsewhere, par12 ticularly at other locations associated with the 

13 Civil Air Patrol. 

14 (b) DUPLICATE MEDALS.—Under such regulations 

15 as the Secretary may prescribe, the Secretary may strike 

16 and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck 

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

18 the medals, including labor, materials, dyes, use of ma19 chinery, and overhead expenses. 

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

21 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 

22 of title 31, United States Code. 


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1 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROCEEDS 

2 OF SALE. 

3 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

5 Public Enterprise Fund, an amount not to exceed $30,000 

6 to pay for the cost of the medal authorized under section 

7 2. 

8 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 

9 sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 2(b) shall 

10 be deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise 

11 Fund. 

Æ 


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