WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today welcomed the signing of a law they cosponsored to award the Congressional Gold Medal to members of the Civil Air Patrol, whose volunteer service helped protect the United States homeland during World War II.

Wicker and Cochran, both members of the Civilian Air Patrol (CAP) Congressional Squadron, cosponsored S.309 that President Obama signed into law on Friday.  Supported by the Mississippi Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, the new law honors CAP members who organized to offer public and combat emergency services during World War II.

“Veterans of the Civil Air Patrol from the Greatest Generation stepped up to serve our country under the most difficult circumstances,” Wicker said.  “This award is a way to pay tribute to their brave service. Their legacy lives on for today’s CAP, whose diligent work keeps us safe every day.”

“This is a well-deserved honor for those who gave of themselves and put their lives on the line to protect our nation during very dangerous times.  Mississippians can be proud of their participation in these volunteer air patrols and their important role in the American war effort,” said Cochran, who was the primary Republican sponsor of S.309 which was introduced with Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa).

Volunteers along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts organized to form the Civil Air Patrol soon after the United States entered World War II.  CAP organizations volunteered private aircraft and resources to support anti-submarine patrols. More than 60,000 members of the Civil Air Patrol logged an estimated 750,000 hours of flight time during the war, reported 173 submarines and located more than 300 survivors of attacks.  Sixty-four members died in service during World War II.

Today, the modern Civil Air Patrol is the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force and a nonprofit organization.  Its members perform 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center.  Its volunteers also perform disaster relief and counter-drug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies.

S.309 passed the Senate in May 2013 by unanimous consent, and enjoyed broad bipartisan support in the House of Representatives when it was passed earlier this month.