[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 33 (Wednesday, March 20, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S2187]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  STATEMENTS ON SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 228--HONORING THE MEMORY OF THE U.S.S. SOUTH DAKOTA 
 AND ITS WORLD WAR II CREW ON THE OCCASION OF THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF 
              THE COMMISSIONING OF THE U.S.S. SOUTH DAKOTA

  Mr. JOHNSON (for himself and Mr. Daschle) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services:

                              S. Res. 228

       Whereas March 20, 2002, marks the 60th Anniversary of the 
     commissioning of the U.S.S. South Dakota;
       Whereas the U.S.S. South Dakota and her crew served with 
     distinction throughout World War II;
       Whereas the U.S.S. South Dakota served in many of the major 
     battles of the Pacific Campaign, including the engagements in 
     support of the battle for Guadalcanal, the Battle of the 
     Santa Cruz Islands, the invasions of the Gilbert Islands and 
     Marshall Islands, the Marianas Campaign, the Battle of the 
     Philippine Sea, the invasions of Leyte and Luzon in the 
     Philippines, the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and 
     attacks on the home islands of Japan;
       Whereas, from February through August of 1943, the U.S.S. 
     South Dakota operated in the Atlantic Ocean, and served there 
     with the British Home Fleet;
       Whereas the U.S.S. South Dakota and her crew became the 
     most decorated American battleship of World War II, having 
     been awarded 13 battle stars;
       Whereas the U.S.S. South Dakota became one of only four 
     battleships to be awarded the Navy Unit Commendation;
       Whereas Admiral Chester W. Nimitz used the U.S.S. South 
     Dakota as his flagship for the surrender of Japan in Tokyo 
     Bay;
       Whereas the U.S.S. South Dakota served as the flagship for 
     Admiral William F. Halsey on the return of the Navy's Third 
     Fleet to the United States after World War II ended; and
       Whereas the memory of those who served and those who died 
     on the vessel are honored at the U.S.S. South Dakota Memorial 
     in Sioux Falls, South Dakota: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) remembers the service of the U.S.S. South Dakota and 
     its World War II crew on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary 
     of the commissioning of the U.S.S. South Dakota;
       (2) commends the members of the World War II crew of the 
     U.S.S. South Dakota for their dedicated service to the United 
     States during that war;
       (3) pays solemn tribute to those who were killed or wounded 
     on the decks of the U.S.S. South Dakota; and
       (4) honors the lasting legacy of the great fighting spirit 
     of the U.S.S. South Dakota and its crew.

     

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