[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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