[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 195 (Friday, December 8, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2323-E2324]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO NEW YORK'S NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVISTS IN WORLD WAR II

                                 ______


                          HON. JAMES T. WALSH

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 7, 1995

  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Speaker, on this historic day, I offer a tribute to 
the National Guard and the military reservists of our country, 
especially for the service of those from my State and Congressional 
District.
  Shortly after the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, 55 years 
ago today, the 27th Infantry Division, comprised of National Guardsmen 
from New York's small towns and cities, became the first and only 
square infantry division to enter the war in the Pacific.
  It established defense installations in Hawaii against an anticipated 
Japanese invasion. These were the first soldiers in the Central Pacific 
to take offensive action against Japan, the first to invade the 
Gilberts and the Marianas, and the first to engage in operations 
carrying the war closer and closer to the enemy's homeland. When World 
War II ended, the 98th Infantry Division--the Iroquois Division, 
organized as a New York reserve square division at the close of World 
War I--occupied Japan and aided war reconstruction efforts. 
Contributions of these peace-time civilians are described in the book 
``Soldiers Remember'' by J. Arthur Rath of Syracuse, NY:

       Within ten days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 
     7, 1941, two fast convoys left San Francisco loaded with 
     troops. In the next three-and-a-half years, Jones, Kelly, 
     Goldstein, Skorski, Olsen--men with all the fine-sounding 
     American names--came in an olive drab flood to build from 
     Hawaii the road to Tokyo.
       They proved a great many things that are part of our 
     heritage and that our enemies believed America had lost. They 
     showed that Americans are still as determined as the day when 
     Thomas Paine sat with ragged revolutionary troops in the 
     chill night of a late fire and wrote that `Tyranny, like 
     hell, is not easily conquered.' Then Paine watched and wrote 
     while American civilians turned into soldiers conquered it.

  The National Guardsmen of the 27th New York Division were linked to 
units participating in every one of our country's major conflicts, 
beginning with the Revolutionary War. Among its regiments was the 
165th, the old ``Fighting 69th'' of ``Fighting Irish'' of World War I 
fame. The American soldiers were the first to break the Hindenberg 
line, the turning point in that war.
  Members of the National Guard and military reserve who stand ready to 
serve their country during peace, as well as during war, helped make 
the rallying call rising 55 years ago today. ``Remember Pearl 
Harbor''--an expression of determination and triumph.

    The Roster of 27th Division Units (New York National Guard) and 
    Localities From Which They Were Drawn on Federal Induction, 25 
                     September 1940 Is As Follows:

       Division Headquarters, New York; Division Headquarters 
     Detachment, New York; Headquarters Special Troops, New York; 
     Medical Detachment, New York; Headquarters Company, New York; 
     27th Military Police Company, New York; 27th Signal Company, 
     Yonkers; and 102d Ordnance Company, New York.
       53d Brigade Headquarters, Albany; and 53d Brigade 
     Headquarters Co., Albany.
       105th Infantry Headquarters, Troy; Headquarters Company, 
     Troy; Medical Detachment, Troy; Antitank Company, Whitehall; 
     Service Company, Troy; 1st Battalion Headquarters, Troy; 
     Headquarters Detachment 1st Battalion, Hoosick Falls; Company 
     A, Troy; Company B, Cohoes; Company C, Troy; Company D;, 
     Troy; 2d Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 
     Schenectady; Company E, Schenectady; Company F, Schenectady; 
     Company G, Amsterdam; Company H, Schenectady; 3d Battalion 
     Headquarters, Schenectady; Headquarters Detachment, 3d 
     Battalion, Saranac Lake; Company I, Malone; Company K, Glens 
     Falls; Company L, Saratoga Springs; and Company M, 
     Gloversville.
       106th Infantry Headquarters, Albany; Medical Detachment, 
     Rome; Headquarters Company, Hudson; Antitank Company, 
     Catskill; Service Company, Albany; All 1st Battalion, Albany; 
     2d Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 
     Binghamton; Company E, Binghamton; Company F, Walton; Company 
     G, Oneonta; Company H, Binghamton; 3d Battalion Headquarters 
     and Headquarters Detachment, Utica; Company I, Mohawk; 
     Company K, Oneida; Company L, Utica; and Company M, Utica.
     
[[Page E 2324]]

       54th Infantry Brigade Headquarters, New York; and 
     Headquarters Company, New York.
       108th Infantry Headquarters, Syracuse; Medical Detachment, 
     Syracuse; Headquarters Company, Syracuse; Antitank Company, 
     Rochester; Service Company, Auburn; Band, Syracuse; 1st 
     Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, Syracuse; 
     Company A, Watertown; Company B, Geneva; Company C, Syracuse; 
     Company D, Oswego; 2d Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters 
     Detachment, Rochester; Company E, Rochester; Company F, 
     Medina; Company G, Rochester; Company H, Rochester; 3d 
     Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, Auburn; 
     Company I, Auburn; Company K, Hornell; Company L, Elmira; and 
     Company M, Ogdensburg.
       165th Infantry complete, New York.
       52d Field Artillery Brigade Headquarters Battery, New York.
       104th Field Artillery Regiment Headquarters, New York; 
     Medical Detachment, New York; Headquarters Battery, New York; 
     Service Battery, New York; 1st Battalion Headquarters and 
     Headquarters Battery, Syracuse; Battery A, Syracuse; Battery 
     B, Binghamton; Battery C, Binghamton; 2d Battalion 
     Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, New York; Battery D, 
     New York; Battery E, New York; and Battery F, New York.
       105th Field Artillery Regiment Headquarters, New York; 
     Medical Detachment, New York; Headquarters Battery, New York; 
     Service Battery, New York; 1st Battalion Headquarters and 
     Headquarters Battery, Brooklyn; Battery A, New York; Battery 
     B, New York; Battery C, New York; 2d Battalion Headquarters 
     and Headquarters Battery, New York; Battery D, New York; and 
     Battery E, New York.
       106th Field Artillery Regiment complete, Buffalo.
       102d Engineer Regiment complete, New York.
       102d Medical Regiment Headquarters, New York; Service 
     Company, White Plains; 1st Battalion Headquarters, New York; 
     Company A, Rochester; Company B, New York; 2d Battalion 
     Headquarters, Albany; Company D, New York; Company E, White 
     Plains; 3d Battalion Headquarters, Albany; Company G, 
     Jamaica; and Company H, White Plains.
       102d Quartermaster Regiment complete, New York.
       102d Observation Squadron, New York.
       Summary: By the end of its wartime duty in the Pacific, the 
     27th had lost its local character. Those from every state in 
     the Union saw service in its ranks in the more than five 
     years it was away from home. When the Division returned to 
     the United States, it again became a unit of the New York 
     National Guard. Commanding General of the New York National 
     Guard is:
       Major General Robert Rose
       Phone 518 786-4510
       330 Old Niskayuna Road
       Latham, New York

       In charge of the 27th Division is Col. Robert Schnurr, 
     chief of staff, Same address and phone number.

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