Civil Air Patrol to receive Congressional Gold Medal

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama-based Civil Air Patrol will be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in Washington, D.C., next month. The Civil Air Patrol said in a statement that the award is being given in honor of the organization's founding members for their role in protecting the U.S. against German U-boat attacks during World War II and carrying out other wartime domestic missions. The Congressional Gold Medal ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 10 in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol. About 40 living World War II members and their relatives as well as the families of deceased members are expected to be in attendance. The Civil Air Patrol was founded on Dec. 1, 1941, six days before the attack on Pearl Harbor. It is headquartered at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery.