HON. RON PAUL
OF TEXAS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
2006 Ron Paul 80:1
Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, I wish to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Major Edward Lee
Behne, a decorated military veteran, entrepreneur,
husband, and father who passed
away on September 8. Major Behne served
his country by flying UH–1 Hueys in Vietnam
from 1967 to 1970. Major Behne is the Vietnam
Wars second-most decorated army pilot,
having received two Distinguished Flying
Crosses, a Legion of Merit, a VN Cross of
Gallantry with Silver Star and Palm, two Silver
Stars, six Bronze Stars, VN Service Medal (9
campaigns), two Meritorious Unit Citations,
and 80 Air Medals.
2006 Ron Paul 80:2
In 1979, Edward Behne retired from the army to return to his home in Texas, in 1988,
he founded Tex-Air Helicopters, Inc. Guided
by his vision of a company that would provide
customers an unprecedented level of quality,
service, and performance in helicopter operations,
Major Behne worked for over 20 years
to build Tex-Air into one of the major providers
of helicopter services in the Gulf Coast region.
By 2000, the Tex-Air fleet had grown to thirty
aircraft and was the most modern and sophisticated
helicopter fleet in the United States.
Operations ranged from Florida to Mexico with
twelve helicopter bases, fifteen offshore refueling
platforms, and two major maintenance facilities.
Tex-Air established an extensive offshore
radio network for operational control and
flight following across the entire Gulf of Mexico
using repeaters and a central communications
base. In 2003, Major Behne retired from Tex-
Air to return to his beloved Texas hill country
ranch, where he entertained his best friends
and family members, worked and hunted.
2006 Ron Paul 80:3
War hero, entrepreneur, rancher, family man — Major Edward Behne made numerous
contributions to the betterment of his country
and set an example for us all. I ask my colleagues
to join me in paying tribute to Major
Edward Lee Behne and extend our condolences
to his wife, Mary Lynne; two sons,
Mark Behne and Mike Behne; four step children,
Jimmy Gonzalez, Mark Gonzalez, Tanya
Roland and Robert Hughey; brother, Richard
Behne; sister, Gwen Pascal; grandchild, Josephine
Behne; and 14 step grandchildren, as
well as all of Major Behnes family and friends.