senate joint resolution NO. 19
By Request of the ****
A joint resolution of the Senate and the House of
Representatives of the state of montana recognizing
the 75th anniversary of the end of world war ii (1941 to 1946) and montana's
veterans of that war.
WHEREAS,
Montana's 163rd Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Division, the Jungleers, was
called to active duty on September 16, 1940, for 1 year of training; and
WHEREAS, on the same day the Selective Training
and Service Act of 1940 introduced the first peacetime conscription for men
between the ages of 21 and 35 in United States history; and
WHEREAS, on March 11, 1941, United States President
Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Lend Lease Act, allowing Britain, China,
and other allied nations to purchase military equipment and to defer payment
until after the war; and
WHEREAS, in August 1941, President Roosevelt
signed an extension of service of 6 months for those Americans who had been
called up in 1940; and
WHEREAS, on December 7, 1941, the United States
came under attack by Japanese forces at Pearl Harbor and locations throughout
the Pacific; and
WHEREAS, on December 8, 1941, the United States
declared war on Japan; and
WHEREAS, on December 11, 1941, Germany and Italy
declared war on the United States. The United States reciprocated and declared
war on Germany and Italy; and
WHEREAS, the largest ever mobilization of
American manpower continued, ultimately calling up over 15 million United
States men and women to serve from 1941 to the end of hostilities in 1945; and
WHEREAS, over 75,000 Montanans ultimately were
part of that force; and
WHEREAS, over 6,000 women from Montana
volunteered to serve in the various military services and auxiliary services in
World War II to include the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, Women's Army Corps,
Army Nurse Corps, United States Navy Reserve (women's reserve), Women Accepted
for Volunteer Emergency Service, Women's Reserve of the Coast Guard, Women
Airforce Service Pilots, Public Health Service, and the Cadet Nurse Corps; and
WHEREAS, many thousands of Native American men
and women of Montana served in all major elements of the United States military
during World War II with honor and great patriotism; and
WHEREAS, Montana Native Americans served as
infantrymen, code talkers, air crewmen, nurses, and many other roles within the
United States Army, Army Air Corps, United States Marine Corps, United States
Navy, and the United States Coast Guard; and
WHEREAS, the 163rd Infantry Regiment, (Montana
National Guard), 41st Infantry Division served with distinction at Fort Lewis,
Washington, and various locations on the west coast of the United States until
its departure to Australia in April 1942 as part of the Southwest Pacific
Command, going on to fight in the Pacific Theater of World War II; and
WHEREAS, Montana's 163rd Infantry Regiment, 41st
Infantry Division (Jungleers) was recognized as the first United States unit to
defeat the Imperial Japanese Forces in the Battle of Sanananda, Papua New
Guinea, in January 1943, subsequently being recognized by the 28th Montana
Legislative Assembly by resolution and by a famous painting by Irwin
"Shorty" Shope in April 1943; and
WHEREAS, the 163rd Infantry Regiment served in
the Pacific Theater in three major campaigns; the Papuan Campaign 1943, winning
the battles at Sanananda, Gona, and Kumsi River; the New Guinea Campaign 1944,
winning the battles of Aitape, Wadke, and "Bloody" Biak; the Southern
Philippines Campaign 1945, winning battles at Zamboanga, Sanga-sanga Island,
and the Battle of Jolo and the key village of Calinan against seasoned Japanese
land forces, stopping only because of the cessation of hostilities due to the
dropping of atomic weapons at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and finally becoming an
occupation force on the Japanese mainland; and
WHEREAS, the 163rd Infantry Regiment had over 230
members of Native Americans, representing eight tribal nations located in
Montana, who fought with distinction as Jungleers; and
WHEREAS, the 163rd Infantry Regiment was
demobilized in Japan on January 1, 1946, and sent home after over 5 years of
active duty; and
WHEREAS, the First Special Service Force, a
unique joint United States-Canadian special operations force, was secretly
formed at Fort William Henry Harrison near Helena, Montana, in April through
July 1942, to organize and train for conduct of the mission known as Operation
Plough; and
WHEREAS, the First Special Service Force went on
to serve in both the Pacific Theater and the European Theater, with battle
credits of the Aleutians Campaign 1943, Naples-Foggia Campaign 1943 to 1944,
Naples-Foggia Campaign (Monte la Difensa, Remetanea, Sammucro, Radicosa, Majo,
and Vischhiataro), Anzio Rome-Arno Campaign 1944, and were recognized as being
the first unit into Rome on June 4, 1944. After helping secure the Holy City
they went on to participate in the Southern France Campaign and the Rhineland
Campaign, being inactivated December 5, 1944, at Villeneuve-Leobet (Menton),
France, without losing a battle and with battle casualties equivalent to 137%
of its strength; and
WHEREAS, the First Special Service Force members
went on to serve as the 474th Infantry Regiment in Norway through the end of
the European Conflict as well as storied units such as the 45th Infantry
Division, marching onto Berlin; and
WHEREAS, the Camp Rimini War Dog Reception and
Training Center was established in late 1942. Located west of Helena at a
former Civilian Conservation Corps site, where over 800 dogs and their handlers
trained as part of the effort to disrupt the Axis power, unit members went on
to acquit themselves in places along the Great Circle military air routes as
search and rescue, providing specialized transport in the remote areas of the
Northern Hemisphere such as Newfoundland, and in Europe during winter
operations providing transport of war material to our American forces; and
WHEREAS, the Army Air Force organized and trained
bomber forces throughout Montana at locations such as Great Falls, Lewistown,
and Cut Bank from 1941 to 1945, training personnel in the use of heavy bombers,
and were ultimately deployed to both the European and Pacific Theaters of war;
and
WHEREAS, the 7th Ferrying Command, Air Transport
Command, was formed at Great Falls (Gore Hill), now the Great Falls
International Airport, and at East Base, Montana, now Malmstrom Air Force Base,
and associated Army Air Corps bases to carry out the mission of providing
aircraft and critical supplies to our allies over the Great Circle Route, a
critical part of Global War Air Operations of World War II; and
WHEREAS, Fort Missoula became a World War II
Italian detention camp after its Army garrison deployed to Alaska, housing
Italian sailors who had been caught up in the war between 1942 and 1943, with
the result being a well-disciplined and trustworthy population, some of whom
went on to emigrate to the United States; and
WHEREAS, specialized units such as the Black,
segregated 555th Parachute Battalion, known as the Triple Nickels, trained and
served in Montana at Missoula fighting forest fires throughout Montana and the
northwest; and
WHEREAS, the people of Montana overwhelmingly
supported World War II efforts in many ways on the home front, providing food
and other strategic supplies and minerals, meeting or exceeding the quotas for
the eight War Bond Drives; and
WHEREAS, Montanans supported, fought, died, and
were wounded in all theaters of World War II. As Joseph Howard Kinsey wrote in
his text, "High, Wide, and Handsome", of the more than 15 million men
and women in the United States Armed Forces during "World War II, Montana
furnished 75,000" to the effort. "Proportionately this was near the
top of all states. In World War II, as in World War I, Montanans were quick to
enlist and they were healthy; the proportion rejected because of physical
defect was smaller than the national average." Further, the "Montana
death rate in World War II was only exceeded by that of New Mexico in
proportion to population. Montana [also] had the record of oversubscribing
first in eight World War II saving bond drives."
Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Senate
and the House of Representatives OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
That the Legislature does hereby recognize our Montana
World War II generation, veterans, and families, and all those who supported
our nation's efforts to right a wrong and restore peace through strength from
1940 to 1946, expending time, talent, and sacrifice to include the ultimate
sacrifice in support of freedom.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Legislature supports the
Spirit of '45 originally declared in July 2010 by an act of the United States
Congress, and the recognition of the year 2020 as the 75th Anniversary of the
end of World War II with Victory Europe occurring on May 7, 1945, and Victory
Japan occurring on August 15, 1945, with the surrender of Japanese forces and
the signing of surrender documents on September 2, 1945, on the USS Missouri,
and ultimately World War II officially closed on December 31, 1946.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this date epitomizes the
establishment and sustainment of one of Montana's most viable military veterans
groups now identified as the Greatest Generation, and the Legislature declares
2021 a special recognition of the sacrifices of Montanans in World War II.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Secretary of State send
a copy of this resolution to the Governor of Montana, the Department Commander
of the American Legion of Montana, the State Commander, the State Senior Vice
Commander, the State Junior Vice Commander, and the State
Adjutant/Quartermaster of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of Montana, the State
Commander of the Disabled American Veterans of Montana, the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs, each of the federally recognized tribal governments in
Montana, and each member of the Montana Congressional Delegation.