Recognizing the 60th anniversary of the disappearance of the 5 naval Avenger torpedo bombers of Flight 19 and the naval Mariner rescue aircraft sent to search for Flight 19.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 500, introduced by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw). This resolution recognizes the 60th anniversary of the disappearance of the five naval Avenger torpedo bombers of Flight 19 and the naval Mariner rescue aircraft sent to search for Flight 19, and it honors the memory of those 27 Navy airmen lost in the disappearance.

As the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann Davis) said a moment ago, on December 5, 1945, at approximately 2:10 p.m. a squadron of TBM Avenger torpedo bombers departed from Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale in Florida on the first leg of a routine exercise. The five-plane formation turned east and headed out over the Atlantic Ocean and subsequently disappeared off the coast of Florida. A 13-man crew of a PBM Mariner was sent out to search for the men of Flight 19, and they too never returned from the area commonly known as the Bermuda Triangle.

The disappearance of the five Avengers and the Mariner resulted in one of the largest air and sea searches in history. Hundreds of ships and aircraft combed 200,000 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, while search parties on land looked for evidence on the off chance that the aircraft may have gone down undetected. Nothing was ever found. No wreckage, no evidence was left of the fate of these six airplanes.

Flight 19, Mr. Speaker, became the Lost Patrol and has been associated with myths of mysterious disappearances of ships and airplanes with the legendary Bermuda Triangle. According to the official board of inquiry, the mission was an overwater navigation training hop composed of an instructor, four naval aviators undergoing advanced training, and nine enlisted aircrew, except for one, who were all undergoing advanced combat aircrew training.

The flight, Mr. Speaker, was entitled Navigation Problem Number 1, which departed Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale on a triangular route with a brief stop for some glide bombing practice on the first leg out. The weather for the area was described as favorable. The planes were thoroughly pre-flighted. All survival gear was intact.

Fuel tanks were full. Instruments were checked, but none of the aircraft had a clock.

While Flight 19 remains one of America's most enduring, unsolved mysteries, some facts are known. Flight 19's departure from Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale was led by one of the students. At some point the instructor, Fox Tare, 28, took the lead after the flight turned north on the second leg, thinking that his students were on the wrong heading. While the instructor was familiar with the Florida Keys, with both compasses out and with evidently no concept of time, he could have mistaken the cays of the Northern Bahamas for the Keys and the water beyond for the Gulf of Mexico.

Toward that end, the favorable weather of low ceiling and daytime 10- mile visibility were replaced by rain squalls and by turbulence and darkness of winter night. Terrific winds were encountered, and the calm sea now ran rough. Although no one can officially say what truly happened to Flight 19, former TBM pilots have expressed the opinion that an Avenger attempting to ditch at night in a heavy sea would almost certainly not survive the crash.

Recently, Mr. Speaker, there has been a renewed focus on solving this continuing mystery. Hopefully, this new investigation into the events on December 5, 1945, will result in concrete evidence as to the fate of Flight 19 and the PBM Mariner and will bring closure to the families who lost their loved ones on that fateful day.

Mr. Speaker, I again want to commend my colleague on this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 500) recognizing the 60th anniversary of the disappearance of the 5 naval Avenger torpedo bombers of Flight 19 and the naval Mariner rescue aircraft sent to search for Flight 19, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 500, recognizing the 60th anniversary of the loss of 27 men with Flight 19 and the naval Mariner rescue aircraft.

On December 5, 1945, the United States Navy tragically lost 27 of its bravest men to circumstances that are still surrounded in mystery. On that day, Flight 19, comprised of five Avenger torpedo bombers with a total crew of 14 flew out of Fort Lauderdale's Naval Air Station for a routine exercise and never returned.

After having lost contact with Flight 19, the Navy deployed a rescue mission of 13 men, all of whom never returned.

Theories abound about what happened that day with the disappearance of 27 men and their planes, sparking one of the largest air and sea searches in history. Hundreds of ships and aircraft scoured over 200,000 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The wreckage was never found. Questions have gone unexplained.

Most try to explain away the events by offering the theory that Flight 19 disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle.

After intense investigation, we do know that Flight 19 lifted into the air from the Naval Air Station at Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 2:10 in the afternoon during peacetime. It was a routine practice mission under the command of Lieutenant Charles Taylor. After having completed their objective, the flight plan called for them to fly an additional 67 miles east then turn north for 73 miles and finally back to the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale, making their distance a total of 120 miles.

While attempting the return flight, a radio transmission from Taylor signaled that his compasses were not working, but indicated he believed himself to be somewhere over the Florida Keys. Flight 19 thereafter lost contact with the tower and was never heard from again.

The Mariner took off approximately at 7:30 p.m. in search of Flight 19 and was never seen nor heard from after takeoff. Based upon a report from a merchant ship off Fort Lauderdale which sighted a burst of flame, it is believed that this aircraft exploded at sea and sank. However, no trace of the plane or its crew was ever found.

Mr. Speaker, on one tragic day, 27 families experienced excruciating losses of their loved ones, and this Nation lost 27 of its bravest and most dedicated Americans. While the events of that day may go unexplained, the memories of those men will not go unhonored. These 27 men have the thanks of a grateful Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw), the author of this resolution and a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 500, a resolution to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the disappearance of the Navy's Flight 19 in the Bermuda Triangle on December 5, 1945. Every schoolkid in America knows the Bermuda Triangle as a place of ghost stories and mystery--a place where whole ships and airplanes literally disappear without a trace. Rumors abound about the cause of these disappearances, ranging from mechanical failures to irregular magnetic field activity to extraterrestrial abduction. No mystery from the ``Devil's Triangle'' has more captured the attention or imagination of America than the ill-fated journey of Navy Flight 19.

At 2:10 p.m. on December 5, 1945, Flight 19, a squadron of five Navy Avenger TBM Torpedo Bombers, took off from Fort Lauderdale for a training run that took them into the heart of the Bermuda Triangle. The weather was cooperative and the water was calm, which was deemed lucky for a squadron where only one of the 14 airmen, Lt. Charles Taylor, had combat flight experience. Nonetheless, midway through the mission, Lt. Taylor became disoriented, claiming his compasses had stopped working, a curious phenomenon in an area known for erratic magnetic activity. Thinking himself over the Florida Keys, Lt. Taylor pointed his squadron Northeast in an attempt to return them to land. Unfortunately, the squadron was over the Bahamas to the east of Florida instead of over the Keys, so their continued northeasterly journey actually took them further out to sea. At 7:04 p.m., the last radio contact was made by Taylor, when he reportedly uttered ``everything is wrong . . . strange . . . the ocean doesn't look as it should'' and ``They look like they're from outer space--don't come after me.'' After this communication, Flight 19 was never heard from again.

This kicked off a massive search spanning 250,000 square miles of ocean. As part of this search, two additional aircraft known as Martin Mariners, were deployed by the Navy to patrol and look for wreckage. With no indication of difficulty, one of these Martin Mariners failed to meet at a scheduled rendezvous point, and was never heard from again. No sign of the Mariner or the Flight 19 Avengers has ever been found. Roger Allen from Sumter, South Carolina, in my district, was one crew member on the missing Mariner whose fate has yet to be discovered.

H. Res. 500 takes the laudable step of commemorating the 60th anniversary of the disappearance of Flight 19 and the naval Mariner rescue aircraft and honoring the memory of the 27 Navy airmen lost on these flights. It also acknowledges the continuing efforts to determine what caused these disappearances so we can provide answers and closure to the families of the airmen who were lost. I commend the fascinating and haunting tale of Flight 19 to anyone interested in the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle, and I join Congressman Shaw in urging my colleagues to support H. Res. 500.

Mr. Speaker, the Bermuda Triangle Flight 19 is one of the great mysteries of south Florida. There are those that will stand and look out to sea and say there is something strange out there, because it was on December 5, 1945, when 27 families experienced excruciating losses of their loved ones and this Nation lost 27 of its bravest and most dedicated Americans. While the events that tragic day may go unexplained, and they are still unexplained to this date, the memory of those men will not go unrecognized.

I am proud to sponsor H. Res. 500, which recognizes the 60th anniversary of the disappearance of the five naval Avenger torpedo bombers of Flight 19 and the naval Mariner rescue aircraft sent to search for Flight 19. These 27 men have the thanks of a grateful Nation.

At this time I would like to pause for a moment and read the names of the men who disappeared with Flight 19 and the naval Mariner rescue crew: Flight 19 crew headed by Charles Taylor, Forrest J. Gerber, Edward Joseph Powers, Walter Reed, George Francis Devlin, Herman Thelander, Burt Baluk, Robert Peter Gruebel, Robert Gallivan, Howell Thompson, George Paonessa, William Lightfoot, George Stivers, Joseph Bossi.

This is the Mariner crew: Walter Jeffrey, Harrie Cone, Charles Arcenaux, Roger Allen, Lloyd Eliason, Alfred Zywicki, James Osterheld, John Menendez, Philip Neeman, James Jordan, Robert Cameron, Wiley Cargill, Donald Peterson. Their memories are lodged in the hearts of their loved ones who might survive them today.

I too would join with the ranking member on this particular bill to say that I do hope this mystery will finally be solved, because in south Florida this is still one of the great mysteries, what went on on December 5, 1945, and the Bermuda Triangle that caused so many to perish and so many aircraft.

Mr. Speaker, may God bless the families of these American heroes.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 500, recognizing the 60th anniversary the disappearance of five Avenger warplanes and one of the rescue aircraft sent to retrieve the lost pilots. The six planes flying out of the Naval Air Station of Banan River on December 5, 1945 contained a total of 27 men. These brave men have never been recovered. Their planes and all of their equipment have never been found, either.

As an interesting point, the disappearance of the planes happened somewhere off the eastern coast of Florida. The strange disappearance of these aircraft was the first incident in the lore of what became the story of the Bermuda Triangle. To date, the incident which we are acknowledging today is still the most cited example of strange occurrences in the Bermuda Triangle.

Mr. Speaker, we should remember the bravery of these 27 men by acknowledging the anniversary of their disappearance. It is a tragedy that for so many years, the cause of the disappearance has remained unknown, leaving the families of the fallen pilots without answers.

For over 225 years, the freedom of America has been maintained by the fighting men and women of our Nation's Armed Forces. These courageous soldiers, sailors and marines put their lives on the line every day to preserve the safety and security of our Nation. In honoring the 27 men lost on December 5, 1945, we also honor the hundreds of thousands of men and women of America's Armed Forces whose heroic actions go unheralded every day.

In passing this resolution, we also honor the families of the fallen pilots, whose sacrifices on behalf of our country will never be forgotten.

I strongly support H. Res. 500, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.