Page 21286        CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - HOUSE           June 24, 1970

                           COL. ROSCOE TURNER: R.I.P.

            (Mr. BRAY [1] asked and was given permission to address the
    House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

            Mr. BRAY.  Mr. Speaker-

            O I have skipped the surly bonds of earth,          [5]
            And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings.

            Son of a Mississippi farmer, who was opposed to young Roscoe's
    desire to be a railroad engineer because it was "too dangerous," he was
    in the front rank of that wild and wonderful breed of men whose glamorous
    and hazardous exploits in aviation between the two World Wars thrilled
    and astounded the world.

             Sunwards I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
             Of sunsplit clouds, and done a hundred things
             You have not dreamed of!   Wheeled and soared and swung,
             High in the sunlit silence; hovering there,
             I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
             My eager craft through footless halls of air.

             Intrigued by the sight of some training planes, sent by the
    Federal Government to the old Memphis Driving Park, he tried to join
    up- but the Army was not interested.  One month after the United States
    entered World War I, Roscoe Turner was in uniform: in the Ambulance
    Corps.  But he wound up in the balloon service, as an observer, and in
    1919 was discharged as a first lieutenant.

             Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
             I've trod the wind-swept heights with easy grace,
             Where never lark, nor even eagle, flew....

            A lion tamer immediately after World War I, he switched to
    parachute jumping with an air circus, and became a qualified pilot and
    stunt flyer.  Few in his era were to fly faster than he did- in 1930 he
    set an east-west transcontinental record of 18 hours, 43 minutes, a truly
    astonishing feat for the day and was on his way to becoming one of the
    leading heroes in the sport of setting records until the advent of World
    War II in 1939 stilled forever ever the roaring, snarling sounds of tiny
    Wasp-Senior and Wedell-Williams racing, planes hurling around the pylons
    at over 300 miles an hour.

            Seven times he broke transcontinental speed records; three times
    he won the Thompson Trophy prize for the annual 300 mile race; three
    times, the Harmon Trophy, given to to country's top speed pilot, and he
    also took the Bendix cross-country race plus any other number of top
    prizes.  It was an age of color and splendor; the American people wanted
    their heroes to be glamorous and outstanding, and Roscoe Turner gave his
    public what they sought.  It was not unusual to see him striding down the
    street, dazzling in a blue tunic with gold braid, parachute slung over
    his shoulder, and his pet lion, "Gilmore," on a leash, or in his favorite
    uniform: blue tunic, fawn-colored breeches, knee-length boots, Sam Brown
    belt and crimson flying helmet. An individual in an age of
    individualists, the famous cartoon character "Smilin' Jack" was based on
    the image Turner presented.  And through the 1930's, uncounted thousands
    of spellbound boys huddled over their radios, listening in quivering
    excitement to the dramatized adventures of Col.  Roscoe Turner and his
    air aces.

            Capt.  Eddie Rickenbacker said In 1938 that Roscoe Turner had
    done more for aviation than any man in the United States.  During World
    War II he helped train over 3,500 cadets and instructors for the Army Air
    Forces.  Up until 3 years ago, he continued to fly, piloting the latest
    military jet planes.  In 1952 the Air Force awarded him the Distinguished
    Flying Cross in recognition of his racing exploits and wartime training
    service.

            A friend remembers Roscoe Turner once saying "When I get so old I
    cannot come over here and look over the field and hear the engines, I
    want to die." There is something particularly sad; there is an unusual
    sense of loss; there is a larger void than otherwise- when a man like
    Roscoe Turner passes from amongst his fellow men.  Those of us privileged
    to know him, and to call him "Friend," will always carry in our hearts
    and cherish the memory of this man, one of the last of his kind.

            And while, with silent, uplifted mind,  I've trod
            That high, untrespassed sanctity of space
               Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

            His kind seldom comes among us and, thank god, there Is something
    in the soul of this country, and, Indeed, of men everywhere, that
    thrills to their presence when they do.  He is gone, and something has
    passed with him that will never come again.  "Clear," and "Contact," have
    sounded for him for the last time; the chocks have been pulled away from
    the wheels, and he has departed on that great eternal flight.  Those who
    knew him always like to think that somewhere In the vast universe Col.
    Roscoe Turner's spirit is still at the controls, but his race course is
    the cosmos, and the pylons marking the turns are the planets, and the
    stars.

            When my life on earth is ended, and my work at last is done,
               I'll set down my wings forever, on the Airdrome of the Sun.
            Where that Greater One keeps vigil, our CO, our Flying Boss,
               He whose wingspread fills the Heavens: from Polaris
                  to the Cross.

            Godspeed, Roscoe.  Clear the throttle, and open sky.


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    Page 21237-238    CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - HOUSE             June 24, 1970


                         THE LATE COLONEL ROSCOE TURNER

            (Mr. MILLER [2] of California asked and was given permission to
    address the house for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks and
    include extraneous matter.)

            Mr. MILLER of California.  Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Nation lost
    one of its outstanding, citizens, a hero who had served as a model of
    courage and daring to a generation of young people. Col. Roscoe Turner,
    pioneer in aviation during the 1920's and 1930's, spent his life in
    complete dedication to the development and progress of aeronautics, in
    which our country leads the rest of the world.
            From very humble beginings, he rose to worldwide fame through his
    sheer tenacity and a coolly calculated flamboyance in focusing the
    attention of the American people, by his exploits in the air, on the
    tremendous importance of aviation to the military strength and economic
    vigor we now enjoy.  He was a three-time winner of national air races,
    the Bendix and the Thompson trophies. He helped to build and tested the
    first 300 mile-an-hour airplane produced in the United States.  These are
    only a few of a multitude of achievements in the air, far beyond my
    ability to recount here.
            Roscoe was no stranger to the Committee on Science and
    Astronautics.  He served for several sessions of Congress as a consultant
    to the committee and allowed the members and staff to draw upon his great
    fund of knowledge in our efforts to expand and enlarge NASA's involvement
    in aeronautical research.
            Roscoe Turner has not passed on to obscurity, because he was a
    man in the truest sense of heroic dimensions and accomplishments.  He
    lived his last days as a legend which now passes on into history.  I know
    that the members of the committee on Science and Astronautics of the
    House join with me in saluting Roscoe Turner and extending to his wife
    and his brother our most profound condolences.

            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                         THE LATE COLONEL ROSCOE TURNER

            (Mr. ROUDEBUSH [3] asked and was given permission to address the
    House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
            Mr. ROUDEBUSH.  Mr. Speaker and Members of the House, I would
    like to join with my dear friend and colleague, the chairman of the
    Science and Astronautics Committee (Mr. MILLER of California), in
    exspressing my deep sorrow at the passing of a great American, Roscoe
    Turner.
            I have known Roscoe over the past 25 years, and although I will
    not go into a recitation of his many accomplishments, as our chairman
    has already done today for the benefit of the House, however, I will
    say if I were to pick the greatest American I have ever known, without
    hesitation I would say Col. Roscoe Turner.
            He was a neighbor of mine in Indiana, although he was born in
    Mississippi.  For many years he made Indianapolis his home.
            What he has given to the aviation industry and his contributions
    to the air transportation of Indiana, as well as to the industry
    throughout the Nation, are really so great, so numerous, that it is
    difficult to recite all of these accomplishments.
            I last saw Roscoe Turner, here in Washington earlier this year;
    when he was here with our comrades of the American Legion.  He was in
    great pain due to his illness.  I took him to his hotel and helped him to
    his room.  It was difficult for him to return to his room.
            He was a patriotic, flag-loving American.  His life has been
    devoted to his country.  May this great man rest in peace.
            I know I have lost a very dear personal friend.  I know that this
    country has lost one of its greatest citizens.

            Mr. ABERNETHY [4] Mr. Speaker, will the distinguished gentleman
    yield?
            Mr. ROUDEBUSH.  I shall be glad to yield to my colleague from
    Mississippi.
            (Mr.  ABERNETHY asked and was given permission to revise and
    extend his remarks.)

            Mr. ABERNETHY.  Mr. Speaker, I would like to join in the remarks
    which have been made by the gentleman from Indiana and also by the
    gentleman from California (Mr.  MILLER) with reference to the passing of
    Col.  Roscoe Turner.
            Mr. Speaker, I knew Roscoe Turner quite well.  He was a native of
    Corinth, Miss., in the old First Congressional District that I
    represented for many years. He rendered distinguished service to his
    country and more especially to the aviation industry, and the sciences
    of aviation and astronautics.
            He was a very great American and he left behind a record of
    service and unusual accomplishment.
            Mississippians all were very proud of Roscoe Turner and we deeply
    regret his passing.


            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES:

  [1] BRAY, William Gilmer, a Representative from Indiana; born on a farm
  near Mooresville, Morgan County, Ind. - June 17 1903; attended the public
  schools of Moooresville, Ind; was graduated from Indiana University Law
  School at Bloomington in 1927 and was admitted to the bar the same year;
  prosecuting attorney of the fifteenth judicial district of Indiana,
  Martinsville, Ind., 1926-1930; commenced the private pratice of law in
  Martinsville, Ind., in 1930; called from the Army Reserve June 21, 1941,
  with the rank of captain and served with a tank company throughout the
  Pacific campaign receiving the Silver Star; after the war was transferred
  to Military Government and served nine months in Korea as deputy property
  custodian; released from active duty in November 1946 with the rank of
  colonel; returned to the private law practice in Martinsville, Ind.;
  elected as a Republican to the Eighty-second and to the eleven succeeding
  Congresses (January 3, 1951-January 3, 1975); unsuccessful candidate for
  reelection in 1974 to the Ninety-fourth Congress; resumed the practice of
  law; named to be a commissioner to the American Battle Monuments
  Commission by President Gerald Ford, 1975-1978; resided in Martinsville
  Ind., where he died June 4, 1979; interment in White Lick Cemetery,
  Mooresville, Ind.  [p. 662]

  [2]  MILLER, George Paul, a Representative from California; born in
  San Francisco, Calif., January 15, 1891;. attended public and private
  schools; was graduated from St. Mary's (Calif.) College in 1912; engaged
  as a civil engineer 1912-1917; during the First World War served as a
  lieutenant in the Thirty-sixth and Three Hundred and Forty-sixth Field
  Artillery 1917-1919; member of the staff, United States Veterans' Bureau,
  1921-1925; resumed activities as a civil engineer; also co-owner of a
  travel agency in San Francisco; member of the California State assembly
  1937-1941; was executive secretary to the California Division of Fish and
  Game 1942-1944; elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-ninth and to the
  thirteen succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1945- January 3, 1973);
  chairman, Committee on Science and Astronautics (Eighty-seventh through
  Ninety-second Congresses) unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1972
  to the Ninety-third Congress; was a resident of Alameda, Calif., until
  his death there on December 29, 1982; interment in San Francisco National
  Cemetery, Presidio of San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif.  [p.1501]

  [3]  ROUDEBUSH, Richard Lowell, a Representative from Indiana; born on
  a farm in Hamilton County, near Noblesville Ind., January 18, 1918;
  attended Hamilton County Schools graduated from Butler University,
  Indianapolis, in 1941; served in the United States Army from November 18,
  1941, to August 12, 1944, as a demolition specialist for the Ordnance
  Department in Middle Eastern, North African and Italian Campaigns;
  farmer; partner in livestock commission company; National Commander of
  Veterans of Foreign Wars in 1957-1958; chairman of Indiana Veterans
  Commission, 1954-1960; elected as a Republican to the Eighty-seventh and
  to the four succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1961-January 3, 1971); was
  not a candidate in 197O for election but was an unsuccessful candidate
  for election to the United States Senate; administrator of Veterans
  Affairs, Veterans Administration, 1971-1977; is a resident of
  Noblesville, Ind.  [p.1746]

  [4]  ABERNETHY, Thomas Gerstle, a Representative from Mississippi;
  born in Eupora, Webster County, Miss., May 16, 1903; attended the public
  schools, the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, the University of
  Mississippi at Oxford and was graduated from the law department of
  Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tenn. in 1924; was admitted to the bar in
  1924 and commenced practice in Eupora, Miss. in 1925; mayor of Eupora
  1927-1929; moved to Okolona, Miss. in 1929 and continued the practice of
  law; district attorney of the third judicial district of Mississippi
  1936-1942; delegate, Democratic National Conventions in 1956 and 1960;
  elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-eighth and to the fourteeen
  succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1943-January 3, 1973); chairman,
  Committee on Elections No. 1 (Seventy-eighth Congress); was not a
  candidate for reelection in 1972 to the Ninety-third Congress; is a
  resident of Okolona and Jackson, Miss.  [p. 509]

  SOURCE:    BIOGRAPHICAL DIRECTORY OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS
             1774-1989, BICENTENNIAL EDITION.  Washington, DC:  United
             States Government Printing Office, 1989.


  [5] Uncredited source:  HIGH FLIGHT by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

  Data transcription by:  David M. Sandy,  May 31, 1993.