To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the World War II members of the "Doolittle Tokyo Raiders", for outstanding heroism, valor, skill, and service to the United States in conducting the bombings of Tokyo.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Michigan and my colleague from Massachusetts for their kind words.

Sir, this is overdue. I agree completely. That is why I rise today with great pride. Soon, the House will join the Senate in passing a bill to give the Congressional Gold Medal to the Doolittle Raiders of World War II. These heroes planted the seeds to win World War II. Without their attack on Japan, America might have lost the war.

The war started on December 7, 1941, when Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor without warning. All eight of our battleships were damaged, four were sunk. Americans were scared. Japan controlled the whole Pacific.

Sometime in 1942, Americans expected Japanese bombs to hit San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. President Roosevelt knew we must strike Japan to show all Americans that we could and would win this war. He had one problem: no American airplane had the range or payload to bomb Japan from American-controlled soil. It would be a suicide mission.

That solution came up from Navy Captain Francis Low, who thought, maybe, maybe we can have Army bombers take off from an aircraft carrier. On February 3, they tried that out, with two B-25s loaded on the Hornet outside of Norfolk taking off, and proved it was possible. The Army again chose the B-25 as the bomber of choice. They picked the Hornet to take the B-25s to Japan and bomb Japan.

But the most important decision was the leader: Colonel Jimmy Doolittle.

Colonel Doolittle assembled the flight crews in Eglin Field in Florida in late February of 1942. These weren't experienced pilots. They were chosen because they could fly a new plane--the B-25. Colonel Doolittle told these men they had a secret special mission: they were going to bomb Japan with B-25s. They had 1 month--1 month--to learn how to take a B-25 off the deck of an aircraft carrier. But they were never trained on the Hornet, another carrier. They were trained on the ground, a runway painted to model the flight deck of the Hornet.

On March 25, 1942, they were ready. They flew to Naval Air Station Alameda near San Francisco and saw the Hornet for the first time. On April 2, they sailed for Japan with 16 B-25s locked down on the flight deck. On April 18, their mission almost ended. They were spotted by a Japanese patrol boat. America could not lose the Hornet. She was too precious. So Colonel Doolittle and Captain Mitscher decided to launch the B-25s 10 hours before it was planned. They would not have the fuel to bomb Japan and fly to safety in unoccupied China as part of the plan. They would go down in Japanese territory.

Despite rough seas, all 16 B-25s launched off the Hornet. They bombed Tokyo and other cities. The property damage was small, but the damage to the Japanese morale could not be measured. For the first time in over 1,000 years Japan had been bombed by a foreign nation. Because of that one single raid, Japan pushed to provoke a confrontation with our Navy. They got sloppy. We ambushed them off of Midway on June 4, 1942, sinking four of their aircraft carriers that destroyed our fleet at Pearl Harbor.

Eighty heroes took off from the Hornet. Three died when the aircraft crashed. Eight were captured by the Japanese. Three of those were killed by a firing squad. One died of malnourishment. Four spent the war in captivity as prisoners of our allies--the Russians. Of the 80 heroes who roared down that deck, 73 came home. Only four are with us today: Lieutenant Colonel Robert Hite, copilot, B-25 Number 16, the last one off the deck; Lieutenant Colonel Edward Saylor, engineer, B-25 Number 15, right before Lieutenant Colonel Hite; Staff Sergeant David Thatcher, the gunner, B-25 Number 7; and my friend from Comfort, Texas, Lieutenant Colonel Dick Cole. Dick sat next to Colonel Doolittle on B- 25 Number 1 as she roared down the flight deck and took off into history.

That is why this medal is so important.

By passing this bill today and by having President Obama sign it into law, we tell my friend Dick Cole, his three living colleagues, and the 76 heroes who have gone to Heaven that we will never forget that they kept the torch of freedom burning brighter with the raid on Japan.

I ask my colleagues to strongly support H.R. 1209.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1209) to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the World War II members of the ``Doolittle Tokyo Raiders'', for outstanding heroism, valor, skill, and service to the United States in conducting the bombings of Tokyo.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous materials for the Record on H.R. 1209, currently under consideration.

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

I rise today in support of H.R. 1209, a bill to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the brave airmen known as the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders for outstanding heroism, valor, skill, and service to the United States in conducting the bombings of Tokyo, introduced by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson). This bill authorizes the minting and award of a single gold medal, collectively, in honor of the mission that was one of the catalysts of Allied Powers' victory in the Pacific in World War II. After its award, the medal would be given to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, where it will be displayed with other Doolittle Raid memorabilia, including the famed ``Doolittle Goblets,'' and be available for loan as appropriate.

Mr. Speaker, the valor of the 80 men we now call the Doolittle Raiders is beyond most people's imagination. They all volunteered for an extremely hazardous--some would say impossible--mission, as if flying huge bombers during the war wasn't already extremely hazardous, and when a major element of their mission was jeopardized, they went ahead with the raid anyway, knowing it would drastically increase the chances that they would be either killed or captured.

Under the command of the tough and visionary Colonel James Doolittle, these men from the 17th Bombardment Group--medium size--ended up flying the first ever mission in which medium bombers took off from a carrier in combat conditions. Because the USS Hornet had been discovered by the enemy, the raiders ended up taking off for a mission that, at 670 miles, was at least 100 miles longer than had been predicted and planned for--enough further to virtually guarantee they would crash land or be forced down in the sea or in Japanese-controlled China rather than on Allied airstrips deeper into China.

Mr. Speaker, that is what happened. Two died in crashes, and of the eight captured, three were executed and a fourth died of disease. But considering the daring nature of their mission and the morale-booster it was for the U.S. soldiers and civilians, that 70 returned to the United States is a miracle. Importantly, the raids on April 18, 1942, proved to the Japanese that their homeland was vulnerable to attack, which led to the recall of several top fighter squadrons for homeland defense and prompted other repositioning of Japanese assets that many believe led to the crushing American victory in the Battle of Midway in early June of that year, just 6 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Mr. Speaker, the men who risked--and lost--their lives in the Doolittle Raid are legendary heroes, and the raid itself is one of the premier military exploits of our still young Nation. This medal is well-earned and long overdue. The bill has 309 cosponsors in the House, and a companion bill introduced by Senator Brown of Ohio had 78 cosponsors when it passed the other body in November.

I ask for unanimous approval of this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson), the sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague from Texas for sharing that history.

I too share, I think, in the surprise that my colleague from Massachusetts expressed, which is that this hasn't been done already-- it certainly should have been--whether it was Jimmy Stewart, who starred in a famous movie back in the day--the whole notion of launching these B-25 Mitchells off the deck was so new, and what would be a simple commute today maxed out the capabilities of these airplanes, and it was very important.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I do ask that we pass this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

To be perfectly honest, I am shocked that Congress hasn't already done this--absolutely shocked. This should have been done in 1943.

The Doolittle Raid was the most important military event of its time. For those of you who don't understand it, right after Pearl Harbor, being attacked, at the time, by the strongest military in the world at the top of their game, they did catch us by surprise and destroyed our Pacific fleet.

We were sitting back trying to regroup, trying to get it going, trying to get troops going. How do we hit back? How do we prove that we can do this? The Doolittle Raid was all about that.

As you heard, a previous speaker said ``volunteers.'' Now, they were professional military, but they volunteered for this mission. Why were they asked to volunteer? Because everyone saw this as a death sentence. Nobody really thought they would ever come back. Why? Because the planes they flew were bombers, heavy bombers for those days--small compared to what we have today--flying off of aircraft carriers that, again, in today's Navy wouldn't be anything. Small aircraft carriers.

No one had ever taken a bomber off of an aircraft carrier prior to this raid. No one had ever done it. No one thought it could be done. They got within a certain mileage of Japan beyond where they were supposed to go. They were told bomb Japan, land in China. Not enough fuel to get back.

Any mission, like anything else, especially in days before good navigational tools, a lot of fuel was burned that wasn't planned on. None of them made it to their fields. Most of them crash-landed. As you heard, several of them died.

That raid took all of America and lifted our spirits. Well documented. That is why I am shocked that we are here today. Well documented. It took the entire country and made us feel like, we can do this, we can do it now, even when we are unprepared. If we can do this now, imagine what we can do when we get prepared.

The Doolittle Raid gave us the courage and the commitment to win that war. Those men were true heroes in every sense of the word. The fact that we are here today is an honor for me, but honestly, I think it is something that is well long overdue.

For those who are still living, I want to add my thanks to their bravery. Without them, I think it would have been a much longer war and a much more disheartening year or so before we really engaged in a military action that we could win.

With that, I thank the sponsor of this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, May 9, 2014, I was at home in Wisconsin taking care

of my amazing wife and our new baby daughter. Had I been present, I would have voted in the following ways:

(1) H.R. 1726--To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the 65th Infantry Regiment, known as the Borinqueneers--``yea.''

(2) H.R. 2203--To provide for the award of a gold medal on behalf of Congress to Jack Nicklaus, in recognition of his service to the Nation in promoting excellence, good sportsmanship, and philanthropy--``yea.''

(3) H.R. 2939--A bill to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Shimon Peres--``yea.''

(4) H.R. 3658--Monuments Men Recognition Act of 2013--``yea.''

(5) H.R. 1209--To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the World War II members of the ``Doolittle Tokyo Raiders'', for outstanding heroism, valor, skill, and service to the United States in conducting the bombings of Tokyo--``yea.''

(6) S. 309--A bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the World War II members of the Civil Air Patrol--``yea.''

(7) H.R. 685--American Fighter Aces Congressional Gold Medal Act-- ``yea.''

(8) H.R. 4628--To amend title 23, the United States Code, with respect to United States Route 78 in Mississippi, and for other purposes--``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise to salute the Doolittle Raiders. Seventy-one years ago this Thursday, 16 Army bombers took off from the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, the USS Hornet. The Hornet was spotted by the Japanese hundreds of miles before their intended launch point. Led by Colonel Doolittle, all 16 bombers were launched, knowing that they would not have the fuel for safe shelter and they would crash land in enemy territory. A short 4 months after Pearl Harbor, these heroes bombed Tokyo and sent a message to the world that America

would win World War II. Eighty pilots took off that day. Four of them are still alive. They had their last reunion this week.

I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 1209, which will give a Congressional Gold Medal to the Doolittle Raiders and give them one final honor before their final flight home.