[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 20, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S5457]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               50TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION OF ``COMPANY K''

 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
men of the National Guard's 169th Infantry Regiment of the 43rd 
Division, or Company K, as they were called, who answered the call to 
serve their country 50 years ago in securing peace and democracy in 
Germany during the Korean War. The men of Company K were an elite group 
of civilian soldiers hailing from Middlesex County in my home state of 
Connecticut.
  When Communist-led North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950, 
President Truman decided to strengthen United States forces by calling 
up the National Guard. Worried that the Korean attack was only a 
diversion for a planned Soviet attack on Berlin, the Truman 
administration deployed troops in Germany to thwart any plans for 
aggression. In order to make this possible, Truman relied heavily on 
support from the National Guard.
  Company K, headquartered in Middletown, Connecticut, became part of 
this defense effort and reported for roll call on September 5, 1950, 
officially becoming part of the United States Army. While training at 
the A.P. Hill Military Reservation in Virginia, Company K received word 
from Major General Kenneth F. Cramer that they were to report for duty 
in Germany. It was July 10, 1951, 12:10 p.m.
  The Major General recalled the history of the 43rd, noting that never 
before had it been assigned such a task. It was to be the first time in 
history that a National Guard division went to Europe in peace time. 
Major General Cramer said to his troops:

       We are now participating in a determined effort by western 
     civilization to maintain its freedoms and to preserve the 
     peace through the cooperative effort under the Atlantic Pact. 
     . . . As we move into Europe, the eyes of that continent will 
     be upon us. All these people will judge the America of today 
     by us. By our conduct, by our appearance, by our soldierly 
     qualities, we must make certain that their judgments are most 
     favorable to our own country, whose ambassadors we shall be.

  And great representatives of America they were. On January 4, 1952, 
the Hartford Courant wrote that the 43rd Division had become an elite 
force of respectable and dutiful soldiers. They further praised them 
for their consideration towards the people of Germany, among whom they 
lived and interacted on a daily basis.
  Company K stayed in Germany for more than two and a half years. 
Through their efforts there in building defense systems, organizing the 
border defenses, and strengthening the NATO forces, they successfully 
helped to prevent any Soviet attacks.
  The soldiers of the Company put the preservation of freedom and 
democratic society ahead of themselves. They proved that their loyalty 
to our society's ideals and their desire for peace was their first 
priority. As such, our nation could not have asked for finer 
ambassadors in Europe.
  On June 25, 2000, the members of Company K will be celebrating their 
50th Anniversary Reunion gathering. I am grateful to them for their 
actions 50 years ago and on behalf of the people of Connecticut, and 
the nation as a whole, I wish to extend a heartfelt thank you to the 
men of Company K. I hope that their reunion is a success and I wish 
them well in the future.

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