[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 173 (Thursday, December 13, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13226-S13227]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE NATIONAL GUARD ON THE OCCASION OF ITS 365TH ANNIVERSARY

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Con. Res. 93, submitted 
earlier today by Senators Levin, Warner, and others.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 93) recognizing and 
     honoring the National Guard on the occasion of the 365th 
     anniversary of its historic beginning with the founding of 
     the militia of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I am privileged today to introduce a 
concurrent resolution recognizing and honoring the National Guard on 
the occasion of the 365th anniversary of its historic beginning with 
the founding of the milita of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
  This resolution is cosponsored by all members of the Armed Services 
Committee, the Majority Leader, Senator Daschle, the Republican Leader, 
Senator Lott, the co-chairs of the U.S. Senator National Guard Caucus, 
Senators Leahy and Bond, and Senator Rockefeller. I invite all other 
members to join with me in cosponsoring this concurrent resolution.
  It is significant that we appropriately recognize the 365th 
anniversary of the National Guard, which serves our Nation 365 days a 
year. National Guardsmen and women respond to every crisis that affects 
American citizens, from natural disasters to terrorist attacks.
  As one of the Members of Congress who visited the ruins of the World 
Trade Center just days after the September 11th attacks, I will never 
forget that Guardsmen were among the first to respond. More than 4,000 
Army National Guardsmen from New York rushed to lower Manhattan to help 
to remove debris, rescue victims, treat the injured, and provide 
security. Today, National Guard personnel are flying combat patrols 
over American cities; they are providing security at our nation's 
airports, and they even provide security for us here on Capitol Hill. 
In my home state of Michigan, they stand guard at crossings along the 
Canadian border.
  These citizen soldiers and airmen are indispensable to our Nation's 
security and to U.S. military operations. They have fought in every 
major American conflict since the colonial wars of the 17th century, 
and they are an integral part of all of our ongoing military operations 
today.
  I know my colleagues join me in recognizing the many achievements of 
the National Guard on this historic day.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I am delighted to join Chairman Levin and 
others in cosponsoring this resolution to honor the National Guard on 
the occasion of its 365th anniversary.
  The men and women of today's National Guard have inherited a proud 
tradition of military service dating back to colonial days and 
extending throughout this Nation's history. Today, they are adding to 
this tradition. National Guard units are integrally involved in 
military operations in Bosnia, over Iraq, and against the al Qaeda 
terrorist network and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Our citizen 
soldiers and airmen are diligently performing their homeland security 
mission as part of Operation Noble Eagle. This service includes 
augmenting airport security operations at Virginia's nine commercial 
service airports.
  No element of the National Guard has a prouder, more distinguished 
record of service that that of the Virginia National Guard. I need only 
mention the 29th Infantry Division and its superb service in the D-Day 
invasion at Normandy. In seven minutes that awful day, one company of 
that Division's 116th Infantry Regiment lost 96 percent of its fighting 
force. Twenty-six Bedford, Virginia, men went ashore. Nineteen were 
killed, including the company commander and first sergeant. Today, 
Guardsmen of that same unit are leading the U.S. sector's multinational 
Stabilization Force in Tuzla,

[[Page S13227]]

Bosnia. I was privileged to visit those Guardsmen in Bosnia over this 
past Thanksgiving week.
  The National Guard is critically important to the national security 
of the United States, and that has never been more true than in the war 
against terrorism we are involved in today. We honor the commitment and 
sacrifies of the 458,400 citizen soldiers and airmen of the National 
Guard, their families, their employers, and their communities. I 
congratulate the National Guard, all its personnel, and particularly 
Major General Claude Williams, the Adjutant General of the Virginia 
National Guard, and all soldiers and airmen of the Virginia National 
Guard on this important milestone.
  Mr. DAYTON. Mr. President, I rise today to acknowledge the 365th 
anniversary of a true American institution: The National Guard. Now, 
perhaps more than ever, it is fitting to pay a special anniversary 
tribute to our citizen-soldiers, the oldest of America's armed forces.
  The National Guard dates back to the first Americans. Responsible for 
their own defense, the colonists drew on English military tradition and 
organized their able-bodied male citizens into militias.
  These early colonial militias protected citizens from Indian attacks, 
foreign adversaries and eventually successfully waged our Nation's war 
for independence. Following independence, the framers of the 
Constitution empowered Congress to ``provide for organizing, arming, 
and disciplining the militia.'' Thus commenced the historic dual role 
of the National Guard as a state and a Federal force.
  My home State of Minnesota formed a Territorial Enrolled Militia in 
1850, and in April 1856 the first uniformed, volunteer company was 
formed in St. Paul. Called the Minnesota Pioneer Guards, it was a 
source of pride and inspired the subsequent formation of nine sister 
companies in St. Paul, St. Anthony, Minneapolis, and in river towns 
from Stillwater to Winona. From these roots grew the Minnesota National 
Guard on which we depend so greatly. Each State has a similar, 
distinguished inspirational story.
  Throughout the 19th Century, the size of the regular U.S. Army was 
small. The militia provided the bulk of the troops during the Mexican 
War, the early months of the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War. 
The National Guard comprised 40 percent of American troops deployed in 
France during World War I. In World War II, National Guard units were 
among the first to deploy overseas and the first to fight. Following 
World War II, National Guard aviation units, some of them dating back 
to World War I, because the Air National Guard, the Nation's newest 
Reserve component.
  September 11 ushered in a new chapter in the storied history of our 
heroes in the National Guard. We called on them to secure our Nations' 
most vital infrastructure from terrorists committed to evil and 
violence. They did not hesitate to leave their jobs and families to 
answer the call to protect the American freedoms we hold so dear.
  Today the National Guard continues to provide the States' trained and 
ready units equipped to protect life and property at home. And it 
stands ready to defend the United States and its interests all over the 
globe. Whether called upon by governor or President, from the village 
streets of Bosnia, to the terminals of our own Minneapolis-St. Paul 
International Airport, our coworkers and neighbors in the National 
Guard continue to answer the call to defend freedom.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating 
thereto be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 93) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  (The text of the concurrent resolution with its preamble, is printed 
in today's Record under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')

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