[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 471 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 471

     Commending the efforts of the women of the American Red Cross 
     Clubmobiles for exemplary service during the Second World War.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 23, 2012

 Ms. Collins (for herself, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Nelson of 
Florida, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Pryor, Mrs. Hutchison, 
 Ms. Landrieu, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Boxer, and Mrs. Feinstein) submitted 
 the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
     Commending the efforts of the women of the American Red Cross 
     Clubmobiles for exemplary service during the Second World War.

Whereas, during the Second World War, the American Red Cross was charged by the 
        United States Armed Forces with providing recreational services to the 
        soldiers serving in the war;
Whereas Harvey Gibson, the Red Cross Commissioner to Great Britain during the 
        war, conceived of the Clubmobiles in 1942 as a means of providing hot 
        coffee, fresh doughnuts, and a vital connection to home to thousands of 
        servicemen at dozens of airfields, bases, and camps throughout Great 
        Britain during the buildup to D-Day;
Whereas thousands of young women, from every State in the United States, 
        volunteered to serve in the Clubmobiles, and were chosen after a 
        rigorous interview process in which less than 20 percent of applicants 
        were selected;
Whereas, less than 1 month after the invasion of Normandy, France in June 1944, 
        80 Clubmobiles and 320 American Red Cross volunteers crossed the English 
        Channel and began providing coffee, doughnuts, and a friendly smile to 
        servicemen fighting on the front lines;
Whereas the Clubmobile volunteers saw service across Europe in France, Belgium, 
        Italy, Luxembourg, and Germany, and later in the Far East, touching the 
        lives of hundreds of thousands of United States servicemen until victory 
        was achieved;
Whereas, during the war, the American Red Cross purchased enough flour to 
        produce more than 1,500,000,000 doughnuts, many served from the windows 
        of a Clubmobile;
Whereas a visit from a Clubmobile, which could serve gallons of coffee and 
        hundreds of doughnuts every minute, was often the most significant 
        morale boost available to servicemen at war;
Whereas 52 women of the American Red Cross, some of whom served on the 
        Clubmobiles, perished during the war as a result of their service; and
Whereas 70 years have passed since the Clubmobiles were founded, and only a few 
        women who served in the Clubmobiles remain to share their stories: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) commends the exemplary and courageous service and 
        sacrifice of each of the patriotic women of the United States 
        who served in the American Red Cross Clubmobiles during the 
        Second World War;
            (2) honors the Clubmobile women who lost their lives during 
        the Second World War;
            (3) calls upon historians of the Second World War to 
        recognize and describe the service of the Clubmobiles, and to 
        not let this important piece of United States history be lost; 
        and
            (4) urges the American Red Cross to publicly commemorate 
        the stories of the Clubmobiles and the amazing women who served 
        in them.
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