Since 1938, Gill Robb Wilson led the
argument to
create an
organization that would use
civilian air
resources to aid the U.S. in the
event that it entered
World War II. Gill Robb Wilson and nearly 150,000 people
involved in
aviation who wanted this organization created, were
supported by
General Henry Arnold. And on
December 1, 1941, the Civil Air Patrol was created as part of the Office of Civilian Defense. The creation of the CAP was
ironically only one
week before the bombing of
Pearl Harbor.
Members of the CAP became known as the Minutemen of World War II. They volunteered their time and talents to help defend the U.S.'s borders and fill in where men were being drafted to fight over seas. Over time as the CAP performed important and vital tasks and made a good reputation for itself, the Army Air Forces took notice. In 1943, the CAP was reassigned from part of the Office of Civilian Defense to the War Department, under jurisdiction of the Army Air Forces.
During the war, the CAP performed many missions to aid the U.S. war effort. Most notably they flew patrol missions on the U.S. coasts to search for enemy submarines, and sunk two of them. Other duties included search and rescue operations throughout the U.S., and cargo and courier flights to get vital material and personnel to their destinations.
Harry S. Truman recognized the CAP as an important part of the country, and on July 1, 1946 that incorporated it as a non-profit organization. Then on May 26, 1948, Congress passed Public Law 557 which permanently established the CAP as the official Auxiliary of the new U.S. Air Force. This allowed the Secretary of the Air Force to provide finances and materials to the organization.
Today, the CAP has more than 53,000 members, 535 light aircraft, and an extensive communications capability. It provides aerospace education for its cadets, cadet programs such as leadership courses, and emergency services when needed. They often lead the search and rescue operations when there is a civilian incident.
I was in the CAP for a few years as a cadet. The thing that I can still enjoy about it today was flying in Cessnas (it's really fun, try it sometime) and helping in rescue missions of people lost in the middle of nowhere or who weren't so lucky and crashed in a plane (also in the middle of nowhere).
Source and website: http://www.capnhq.gov