Delaware families accept congressional gold medals
Four families in Delaware were presented with congressional gold medals on behalf of their descendant’s service with the Civil Air Patrol in World War Two on Saturday.
Officials with the CAP say this is the first and only time this honor will ever happen.
The congressional gold medal is one of the two highest civilian awards in the U.S.
Saturday, it was given in honor of the founding members of the Delaware Wing of the Civil Air Patrol. They were a group of volunteers who performed emergency services, disaster relief operations, and sought out enemy submarines during World War Two.
Col. William Bernfeld with the Civil Air Patrol says, “Many of these people were too young or too old to serve in the military. They may have not been physically fit enough, or had issues, but they came out and served.”
Those people sacrificed their lives for their country, which many people believed deserved recognition. However, it didn’t come easily. The CAP has been pushing for this since 2011.
Col. Bernfeld goes on, “We approached the congressional delegations of each state requesting that they honor the original members from 1941. It actually took this long for both the senate in the house both to approve.”
Senators Chris Coons and Tom Carper were always on board. Interestingly, when Senator Carper was a child, he joined the Civil Air Patrol.
Senator Carper replies, “I learned early lessons of leadership from the Civil Air Patrol, my first aviation experience in Aviation Civil Air Patrol. I will always be grateful.”
Officials say those factors are what these awards are all about; recognizing selfless leadership and service.
The medals were given to four families in Delaware whose descendants were in the Civil Air Patrol; and one of them was the Sharp Family.
Major Hugh Sharp was a commander in Rehoboth; remembered for saving a pilot whose plane crashed into the Atlantic during the war.
His son says he’s overwhelmed with the honor. Rodney Sharp goes on, “I think he would have been proud of it, but as I say I think he was prouder of the men and women that were down there with him.”
In addition to Major Sharp, Corporal James Prettyman, Jarome Marx, and Elmer Boyer Sr. were honored with the congressional gold medals.
The Civil Air Patrol is a part of the United States Air Force Auxiliary. To learn more about their history and contribution to World War Two, check out their website here.
