Lieutenant Colonel John W. Mosley Va Clinic

Floor Speech

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Mr. CROW. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership and support, as well as the members of the committee and the committee staff for making sure that this bill received full and quick consideration.

I do rise today in support of H.R. 4172 to name the new Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Aurora, Colorado, for Lieutenant Colonel John W. Mosley.

Lieutenant Colonel Mosley embodies the finest our country has to offer. Mosley was an inspirational leader in the Aurora community and in the Air Force.

Mosley was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1921 and broke barriers at a time where Black men and women were prevented from achieving the full rights of their citizenship and full participation in the military.

Colonel Mosley attended what is now Colorado State University and became the first ever Black player on the football team.

After college, Colonel Mosley wanted to become a pilot, so he paid to get his own pilot's license. When the Air Force didn't assign him to be a pilot, he lobbied his own command in D.C. to assign him to a pilot role. He was eventually assigned to the segregated Tuskegee Airmen unit.

During World War II, he trained as a bomber pilot, serving as one of the first African Americans in that role. He earned the flight qualification of Command Pilot during his service in the U.S. Air Force. The brave service of the Tuskegee Airmen and Colonel Mosley helped pave the way for integration of the armed services.

Upon his return, he married Edna, and together John and Edna Mosley became tireless community activists and organizers. Among her many achievements, Edna was elected to three terms as Aurora's first African American city councilwoman.

After a brief break from military service, Colonel Mosley served during the Korean and the Vietnam wars. Three conflicts. Mosley was an operations officer in Thailand during the Vietnam war.

So naming the new Aurora clinic after Colonel Mosley honors his legacy and will inspire future generations to break barriers. I can't think of a better name for my fellow veterans to be walking in to this new clinic in Aurora, Colorado, than to see the name of Colonel John Mosley as they walk in and to remember his service, his sacrifice, his leadership, and the best of what we can be as a country.

I thank the House Veterans' Affairs Committee for their work to advance this bill, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this effort to honor Lieutenant Colonel John Mosley.

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