Recognizing Abraham Schnitzer

Floor Speech

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Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 100th birthday of First Lieutenant Abraham ``Abe'' Schnitzer of Houston, Texas, and his service as a navigator in the United States Army Air Corps during the Second World War.

Mr. Schnitzer was born in Port Arthur, Texas, on August 18, 1923. After graduating from Port Arthur High School, he went to work for Bethlehem (previously called Pennsylvania) Shipyard in Beaumont, Texas. In 1942, while working as a foreman overseeing shipbuilding operations, Mr. Schnitzer felt called to quit his ``safe job'' and join the military to defend his country. He did so and was commissioned in the United States Army Air Corps.

He specialized as a navigator on the B-17 Flying Fortress. He was first assigned to the 445th Bombardment Group of the 2nd Air Division of the Eighth Air Force to continue training on B-17 bombers. He was soon designated the lead navigator of the entire group and guided many bombing missions over Nazi-occupied France and Belgium.

As the war continued, he was eventually placed in the B-24 Liberator, where he and his crew carried out 20 dangerous missions over Germany. In fact, his bombardment group led the first bombing mission on Berlin. American actor and icon Jimmy Stewart was one of the officers in that group, and he would join Mr. Schnitzer and the other airmen in their downtime.

During his time in the European Theater, Mr. Schnitzer flew 24 combat missions and accumulated 165 combat flight hours. According to his service records, he ``navigated B-24 aircraft over land and sea by dead reckoning, pilotage, celestial, and radio navigation.'' For his military duty, Mr. Schnitzer was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four Bronze Service Stars, and a commendation from the French government.

Interestingly, two of Mr. Schnitzer's missions over Kassel, Germany, carry personal significance, as it was the very town that his future wife and her Jewish family fled during the early years of what would be known as the Holocaust in 1937. He met Edith Isenberg as an Air Force Cadet in 1942 and sent her a daily postcard from Europe until he returned home in 1945. They were married for 68 years and had three children: Robert, Dinah, and Alan.

Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to honor Abraham ``Abe'' Schnitzer, a centenarian and distinguished patriot of our great Nation. May God continue to bless Mr. Schnitzer--a proud member of the Greatest Generation.

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