Stevenson Senior selected for CAP Washington DC meetings
Max Liebl, a Senior at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, IL, was recently selected as one of four cadets to represent the Illinois Wing of the Civil Air Patrol on an official trip to Washington D.C. Liebl personally met and spoke with Rep. Rodney Davis, who represents the IL 13th District, as well as staff members from the offices of Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL 9th District) and Rep. Danny Davis (IL 7th District). He also met with the CAP National Commander, Maj. Gen. Charles L. Carr, pictured below.
Liebl was part of a broad spectrum of Civil Air Patrol members from across the country, ranging from top national officials to young cadets, who fanned out across Capitol Hill Feb. 26-28 to carry CAP's message to federal lawmakers, according to the official CAP website, www.gocivilairpatrol.com.
Visiting their U.S. senators and representatives Feb. 27, delegations from each wing spoke with the legislators and staff members about CAP's congressionally chartered core missions - emergency services, aerospace education and cadet program - both as carried out at the national level and in their respective states.
They also urged support for H.R. 755, the companion House bill to S. 309, already unanimously approved by the Senate, which would honor founding members of CAP with a Congressional Gold Medal for their volunteer service in conducting combat operations and other emergency missions during World War II.
According to CAP's website, the history of the Civil Air Patrol dates back to the late 1930s, when more than 150,000 volunteers with a love for aviation argued for an organization to put their planes and flying skills to use in defense of their country. As a result, the Civil Air Patrol was born one week prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Thousands of volunteer members answered America's call to national service and sacrifice by accepting and performing critical wartime missions. Assigned to the War Department under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps, the contributions of Civil Air Patrol, including logging more than 500,000 flying hours, sinking two enemy submarines, and saving hundreds of crash victims during World War II, are well documented.
After the war, a thankful nation understood that Civil Air Patrol could continue providing valuable services to both local and national agencies. On July 1, 1946, President Harry Truman signed Public Law 476 incorporating Civil Air Patrol as a benevolent, nonprofit organization. On May 26, 1948, Congress passed Public Law 557 permanently establishing Civil Air Patrol as the auxiliary of the new U.S. Air Force. Three primary mission areas were set forth at that time: aerospace education, cadet programs, and emergency services.
Liebl has been a member of the IL Wing of the Civil Air Patrol since he was 12 years old. He has achieved numerous awards, including the Wright Brothers, Billy Mitchell and Amelia Earhart awards. The latter award, upon which a cadet is promoted to captain, is achieved by only 5% of cadets nationwide. He has also received the Air Force Association Citation for outstanding achievement in leadership and academic standing, as well as the Civil Air Patrol Achievement Award for outstanding duty performance. For the past 15 months, Liebl has led 35 cadets while serving as Cadet Commander of the Palwaukee Composite Squadron, based at the Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling. During his five years with CAP, Liebl has achieved his Solo Certificate in Advanced Gliders, helped lead several Cadet Spring Encampments at Great Lakes Naval Training Center and volunteered for numerous community service events, including local Medal of Honor, Honor Flight and Veterans Day and Memorial Day ceremonies.
Liebl's grandfather, the late Lt. Col. Arthur F.W. Liebl of Sheboygan, WI, was one of the first cadets to serve in the Wisconsin wing of the Civil Air Patrol, joining in 1943 and later serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Max Liebl has received an appointment to the Virginia Military Institute and been accepted at the Citadel in South Carolina and Norwich University/The Military College of Vermont. He plans to continue to serve his country in the U.S. Armed Forces.