[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 100 (Thursday, July 27, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1340]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  ON THE DEDICATION OF RED ARROW PARK TO THE MEMORY OF THE FAMED RED 
                             ARROW DIVISION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 26, 2000

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, 83 years ago in July, National Guard units 
from Michigan and Wisconsin were formed into the 32nd Division. These 
units traced their heritage back to Spanish American War, with a few 
even dating back to the famed Iron Brigade, a veteran unit of Civil War 
fighting that was so terribly decimated on the first day of the 
Gettysburg battle.
  The 32nd Division would soon earn its designation as the Red Arrow 
Division in major fighting in major offensives in World War I. It was 
reactivated during World War II and sent to the South Pacific, where 
the unit took part in six major engagements.
  The Red Arrow Division was among the first units serving occupation 
duty in Japan, and was reactivated again as a result of the Berlin 
Crisis in 1961.
  As a result of army reorganization, the unit now carrying the famed 
designation is no longer a division but instead is a mechanized 
brigade, the 32nd Infantry ``Red Arrow'' Brigade.
  Mr. Speaker, while this history of the famed ``Red Arrow'' unit is 
available to anyone with a computer and access to the Internet, an 
important part of the Red Arrow history was lost for many years.
  In 1945 the city of Marinette, Wisconsin, the twin city of my home 
town of Menominee, Michigan, named a beautiful piece of shoreline Red 
Arrow Park in honor of the fighting unit in which so many of its sons 
had served. This honor extended to soldiers from Upper Michigan, as 
well--men like my father-in-law, Ken Olson, from Escanaba, or the late 
Fred Matz, an honored veteran from Menominee.
  But the community forgot where the name came from. Red Arrow Park was 
just another park--an attractive one and a great place to launch a 
fishing boat or hold a family reunion--but a park whose heritage had 
been lost.
  On July 30 this situation will be remedied. In a special ceremony 
spearheaded by local veteran Richard J. Boye of Menominee, the 
community will dedicate a monument that firmly links the Red Arrow 
combat unit to Red Arrow Park.
  This event will greatly enhance the community value of the park, Mr. 
Speaker. Red Arrow Park will remain an important place where families 
can gather in peace And freedom, where children can run and play, 
cooled by the breezes of Green Bay. Now, however, they will be reminded 
of the many residents of northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan who 
served in the Red Arrow Division in two great wars and the Cold War to 
preserve peace and freedom.
  I thank our veterans for their years of service, and I especially 
thank our local veterans who organized the July 30 dedication. Their 
efforts today in setting up this beautiful monument will help future 
generations remember all their comrades who have served so well.

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