[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 677 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 677

Recognizing the exemplary service of the soldiers of the 30th Infantry 
Division (Old Hickory) of the United States Army during World War I and 
                             World War II.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 15, 2022

 Mrs. Blackburn (for herself, Mr. Hagerty, Mr. Tillis, and Mr. Braun) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                           on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing the exemplary service of the soldiers of the 30th Infantry 
Division (Old Hickory) of the United States Army during World War I and 
                             World War II.

Whereas the 30th Infantry Division of the United States Army, nicknamed Old 
        Hickory, was first activated in October 1917 for service in World War I;
Whereas the 30th Infantry Division was nicknamed Old Hickory in honor of General 
        and President Andrew Jackson;
Whereas the 30th Infantry Division was composed of troops from Tennessee, 
        Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and was instrumental in 
        breaking the Hindenburg Line in World War I;
Whereas, when the 30th Infantry Division was reorganized at Fort Jackson in 1941 
        for service in World War II, the division included two North Carolina 
        National Guard infantry regiments, one Tennessee National Guard infantry 
        regiment, and other elements;
Whereas Company B of the 117th Regiment of the 30th Infantry Division was 
        composed of members of the Tennessee National Guards from Athens, 
        Tennessee, who also served in World War II;
Whereas Company B was composed of 5 officers and 100 troops, all of whom were 
        from Tennessee;
Whereas 22 of those troops became officers in prominent positions in the Army;
Whereas, in 1940, one year after Nazi Germany invaded Poland to trigger World 
        War II, the War Department reactivated the 30th Infantry Division;
Whereas, in 1944, the 30th Infantry Division was deployed to Great Britain to 
        participate in the planned Allied landing in Europe;
Whereas, after arriving in Europe during World War II, the 30th Infantry 
        Division engaged directly in battle alongside the British Armed Forces;
Whereas, during World War II, the 30th Infantry Division landed at Normandy on 
        June 14, 1944, participated in the advance across Northern France, 
        joined the invasion of the German Rhineland, defended the Ardennes-
        Alsace, and fought to the final defeat of Germany in May 1945;
Whereas the 823rd and the 743rd Tank Destroyer Battalions were periodically 
        attached to the 30th Division throughout its campaign in Europe;
Whereas the 30th Infantry Division played a key role in the breakout of the 
        Allied forces from Normandy at St. Lo and the subsequent advance across 
        Northern France;
Whereas the 30th Infantry Division is remembered for its role in the defense of 
        Mortain and St. Barthelmy, France, and Hill 317 against a German 
        counterattack in August 1944, actions in which three infantry regiments 
        of the division (the 117th, 119th, and 120th) and a part of a fourth 
        regiment and other elements of the division participated;
Whereas the 30th Infantry Division also played a key role in stopping the German 
        advance in the Battle of the Bulge and recaptured Malmedy and Stavelot 
        and its vital bridge over the Ambleve River;
Whereas, in March 1945, the 30th Infantry Division crossed the Rhine River and 
        quickly advanced to Madgeburg by April 17;
Whereas, while the 30th Infantry Division moved eastward into Germany, it 
        liberated Weferlingen, a subcamp of the Buchenwald concentration camp, 
        on April 12, 1945;
Whereas, at Weferlingen, the troops found 421 inmates who were in poor physical 
        condition due to malnutrition and in dire need of medical attention;
Whereas representatives of the 30th Infantry Division arranged for mayors of the 
        German towns neighboring Weferlingen to immediately furnish food for the 
        starving inmates;
Whereas, in the report prepared for General Dwight D. Eisenhower rating the 
        American combat units that fought in the European Theater, the Army's 
        official historian, S.L.A. Marshall, rated the 30th Division as first 
        among the infantry divisions that had performed the most efficient and 
        consistent battle service;
Whereas, in 2012, the 30th Infantry Division was recognized as a liberating unit 
        by the United States Army Center of Military History and the United 
        States Holocaust Memorial Museum;
Whereas, in recognition of its exemplary service during World War II, the 
        Headquarters Company of the 30th Infantry Division was awarded the 
        Meritorious Unit Commendation and the French Croix de Guerre; and
Whereas the proud fighting tradition of the 30th Infantry Division is 
        perpetuated by the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team, North Carolina Army 
        National Guard: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate recognizes the exemplary service of the 
soldiers of the 30th Infantry Division of the United States Army during 
World War I and World War II.
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