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2011 SESSION
WHEREAS, Colonel Claude M. Schonberger, United States Air Force Reserve Retired, of Mount Vernon, received the United States Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross at a special ceremony in the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes on July 19, 2010; and
WHEREAS, Distinguished Flying Cross recipients have demonstrated “heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight”; and
WHEREAS, Colonel Schonberger received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his “demonstrated extraordinary flying skills and courage against the Obertraubling Airdrome in Regensburg, Germany,” on February 16, 1945; and
WHEREAS, the then Lieutenant Schonberger, assigned to the 759th Bomb Squadron, 459th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force, was flying a B-24 aircraft loaded with bombs when his aircraft took heavy enemy fire; and
WHEREAS, despite an uncontrollable propeller in one engine and a fire in another engine, Lieutenant Schonberger “continued on the bomb run and released his bombs with considerable accuracy”; and
WHEREAS, on his next and last combat mission, enemy fire blew apart Lieutenant Schonberger’s plane, killing most of his crew; and
WHEREAS, because of the chaos of the explosion, no one saw that Lieutenant Schonberger had been blown away from the plane and was able to parachute to the ground, and the United States Air Force listed him as missing in action; and
WHEREAS, Lieutenant Schonberger received aid from an Italian family for his burns and injuries before being captured by the Nazis, interrogated at Nuremberg, and sent to a prison camp for the remainder of the war; and
WHEREAS, Lieutenant Schonberger’s Distinguished Flying Cross unsigned citation papers resided in his personal effects, which had been sent back to his family after he was reported missing in action; and
WHEREAS, after the war, Lieutenant Schonberger returned to civilian life, worked as an air safety investigator for the Civil Aeronautics Board, raised a family, and contributed to his community; and
WHEREAS, decades later, Colonel Schonberger’s squadron commander was located and verified the Distinguished Flying Cross citation papers and the Air Force Board for the Correction of Military Records approved the award; and
WHEREAS, Colonel Schonberger remembered his fallen comrades at the ceremony, reading the names of all of his crew members, a testament to their courage, brotherhood, and patriotism; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly commend Colonel Claude M. Schonberger, USAFR Ret., for his receipt of the United States Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Colonel Claude M. Schonberger, USAFR Ret., as an expression of the General Assembly’s congratulations and gratitude for his distinguished service to his country.