[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 205 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 205

  Honoring the 100th anniversary of Fort Custer in Augusta, Michigan.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 28, 2017

   Mr. Peters (for himself and Ms. Stabenow) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Honoring the 100th anniversary of Fort Custer in Augusta, Michigan.

Whereas 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of a military installation operating in 
        Augusta, Michigan;
Whereas Fort Custer is named after Major General George Armstrong Custer, a 
        native of Monroe, Michigan, and a prominent Civil War cavalry commander;
Whereas the United States Army purchased 130 parcels of Michigan farmland to 
        begin constructing Camp Custer in 1917;
Whereas more than 100,000 soldiers from Michigan and Wisconsin trained at Camp 
        Custer before serving in Europe during World War I as part of the 
        American Expeditionary Forces;
Whereas Camp Custer became the district headquarters of the Civilian 
        Conservation Corps for Michigan's Lower Peninsula during the Great 
        Depression;
Whereas Congress officially designated Camp Custer as Fort Custer on August 17, 
        1940, recognizing it as a permanent military training base;
Whereas, in preparation for World War II engagement, Fort Custer expanded to 
        16,000 acres with accommodations for nearly 1,300 officers and more than 
        27,500 troops;
Whereas more than 300,000 troops were trained at Fort Custer throughout World 
        War II, including the 5th Infantry ``Red Diamond'' Division that left 
        for combat in Normandy, France, in June 1944;
Whereas Fort Custer served as a prisoner of war camp for approximately 5,000 
        German soldiers during World War II;
Whereas approximately 17,000 troops were trained at Fort Custer during the 
        Korean War in the 1950s;
Whereas the United States Air Force established the Custer Air Force Station in 
        1956, which served as part of the North American Air Defense System for 
        a decade beginning in 1959;
Whereas Fort Custer offered free education and vocational training to youth 
        between the ages of 16 and 24 as a Jobs Corps Training Center from 1965 
        to 1967;
Whereas the 770-acre Fort Custer National Military Cemetery, established in 
        1981, honors thousands of the brave men and women who served the United 
        States; and
Whereas Fort Custer continues to serve as a state-of-the-art training facility 
        for the Michigan National Guard and other branches of the Armed Forces, 
        including Reserve Officers' Training Corps students: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) honors Fort Custer in Augusta, Michigan, on its 100th 
        anniversary;
            (2) commends the thousands of men and women who have worked 
        and trained at Fort Custer; and
            (3) commemorates the tens of thousands of members of the 
        Armed Forces and their families memorialized at Fort Custer 
        National Cemetery.
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