The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING LT. GEN. JOHN F. GONGE
______
HON. JOHN GARAMENDI
of california
in the house of representatives
Friday, August 20, 2021
Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Lieutenant General John F. Gonge for his long and distinguished military career as well as the establishment of the Gonge Innovation Center at Travis Air Force Base's Phoenix Spark Lab. Lt. Gen. Gonge was born in 1921, in Ansley, Neb., where he graduated from Ansley High School in 1938 before his desire to serve led him to enter active military service as an aviation cadet. He attended the U.S. Army Air Corps Flying School at Lubbock Army Air Field, Texas, where he received his pilot wings and commission as a second lieutenant in December 1943. During World War II, he flew the ``Hump'' in the China-Burma-India campaigns with the Army Air Corps Air Transport Command, ensuring crucial resources could be transported through the treacherous Himalayas to American allies.
A career transport pilot, General Gonge has filled innumerable roles during his career, remaining with airlift forces through Air Training Command, Military Air Transport Service, and Military Airlift Command. At each stop along the way he has imparted his experience and wisdom to many others who seek to serve their country. In July 1969 he came to Travis Air Force Base as vice commander of the 60th Military Airlift Wing before he was assigned as commander of the 63d Military Airlift Wing at Norton Air Force Base, Calif., in February 1970. Subsequently, General Gonge commanded the 22d Air Force at Travis Air Force Base from August 1972 to August 1975, when he became vice commander of the Military Airlift Command.
General Gonge is a command pilot with more than 13,000 flying hours. His military decorations and awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, Army Commendation Medal, and the Distinguished Unit Citation Emblem. These recognitions and his promotion to the grade of lieutenant general in September, 1975 make it clear that General Gonge's legacy will continue to guide and inspire generations to come. On behalf of the people of California's 3rd Congressional District, I offer my sincere gratitude for his many decades of dedicated service.
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 148
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