Mercy Flights

Mercy Flights--America's first not-for-profit air ambulance service--was created in 1949 in direct response to the polio epidemic and medical transportation problems in Southern Oregon and Northern California. At that time, two small general hospitals provided basic medical care for the community of 17,000 residents. The nearest specialty hospitals for injuries and more complex care were in Eugene (167 miles), Portland (274 miles), and San Francisco (363 miles). Since the Interstate Highway System had not yet been built, these distances were very slowly traveled on two-lane roads. George Milligan, a young air traffic controller--and a pilot himself--mobilized the community to create Mercy Flights and recruited volunteer pilots and nurses to staff the service. The story of Mercy Flights is a grassroots account of heroism, service, creativity, tenacity, and strong community leadership.

The Pacific Coast is home to a beautiful wonderland of recreation. Vast forests, high mountains, stark deserts all beckon the adventurous, whether they are hiking the Pacific Coast Trail, scaling the challenging faces of Yosemite, or out for a day hike along the Columbia Gorge. Yet along with this natural beauty comes risk, even for the most well-prepared. Search and Rescue Pacific Coast collects the stories of the mountaineers, rangers, and ordinary volunteers who step in to help when the terrain and conditions show no mercy. Covering historical and recent events, this collection includes: Stories of rescues on Mt. Rainier and Mt. Hood, including two in which the rescue volunteers’ helicopters crashed. Dramatic rescues along the Pacific Coast Trail. How the oldest volunteer search and rescue organization in the nation rescued 144 hikers from a raging forest fire in Eagle Creek, Oregon. The story of a search and rescue veteran who required his own rescue while attempting to help a family trapped by rising floodwaters in California. The tale of a woman who was charged with 98 felonies after a dramatic search and rescue operation on the Oregon coast. The grit and determination of these search and rescue volunteers will inspire readers—and give them appreciation for the lessons of the wilderness.

The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record began publication in 1873. Debates for sessions prior to 1873 are recorded in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (1789-1824), the Register of Debates in Congress (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873)

Medford, Oregon, pioneered aviation in Southern Oregon and has long enjoyed a reputation for being an air-minded city. When the City of Medford built Newell Barber Field in 1920, it established the first municipally owned airfield in the state. In 1926, Pacific Air Transport selected Medford as a station for the West Coast airmail route. While Portland's airmail service was located across the river at Vancouver's Pearson Field in Washington, Medford's Newell Barber Field was Oregon's only airmail stop. The 1920s secured Medford's position as a leader in the growth of both civil and commercial aviation. When technology rendered the original field obsolete, the voters handily approved a new, state-of-the-art field that has continued to expand and grow into a major international airport and free trade zone, capable of accommodating some of the world's largest aircrafts.