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D.C. (NewsDakota.com) The House of Representatives passed legislation cosponsored by North Dakota Congressman Kevin Cramer awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to ten North Dakota airmen.

The American Fighter Aces Congressional Gold Medal Act awards the medal to pilots who served honorably and destroyed five or more confirmed enemy aircraft. Of 60,000 U.S. military fighter pilots, less than 1,500 have this distinction as American Fighter Aces.

Ten of these are from North Dakota: Leonard Check of Berwick, Francis Register of Bismarck, Leland Molland of Chaffee, John Donaldson of Fort Yates, Lloyd Heinzen of Garrison, Oscar Coen of Hannaford, Alfred Frendberg of Hillsboro, Donald Baccus of Jamestown, Harvey Picken of Minot, Laurence Blumer of Walcott, and Clarence Borley of Williston.

H.R. 1209 awards the Congressional Gold Medal to World War II members of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders, 80 airmen hailing from 35 states known for a daring air raid on the Japanese mainland on April 18, 1942 as a response to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Becky Thatcher-Keller from Jamestown reached out to Congressman Cramer to tell the story of her father, David J. Thatcher, who is one of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders. Staff Sergeant Thatcher, who is 93, still lives with his wife in Missoula, MT where they settled after being discharged from active duty in 1945.

Cramer said, “Even after numerous Honor Flights with World War II veterans and welcoming home our heroes since being elected to Congress I’m still amazed by the stories of the men and women making the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom of the American people,” He added, “As we honor and remember them in the U.S. House of Representatives tonight I hope we as a nation can move forward in a fashion as humble and rigorous as they did.”