The Civil Air Patrol was founded on Dec. 1, 1941, six days before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Early in the war, supply ships leaving American ports to support the Allied war effort began drawing deadly attacks from German U-boats off the East Coast. CAP pilots carried out anti-submarine missions, often carrying bombs to drop by hand on enemy vessels sighted. Their vigilance helped discourage and eventually halt the attacks.Over 18 months, CAP anti-submarine coastal patrols flew more than 24 million miles, spotting 173 U-boats and attacking 57, hitting 10 and sinkingtwo.They also escorted more than 5,000 convoys and reported 17 floating mines, 36 bodies, 91 ships in distress and 363 survivors in the water. CAP also patrolled U.S. borders by air, towed targets for military trainees, spotted forest fires, conducted search and rescue missions, provided disaster relief and emergency transport of people and parts, and conducted orientation flights for future pilots.In addition, 65 CAP members lost their lives in the line of duty.