[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 23, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S3519]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 471--COMMENDING THE EFFORTS OF THE WOMEN OF THE 
AMERICAN RED CROSS CLUBMOBILES FOR EXEMPLARY SERVICE DURING THE SECOND 
                               WORLD WAR

  Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Nelson of 
Florida, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Pryor, Mrs. Hutchison, 
Ms. Landrieu, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Boxer, and Mrs. Feinstein) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 471

       Whereas, during the Second World War, the American Red 
     Cross was charged by the United States Armed Forces with 
     providing recreational services to the soldiers serving in 
     the war;
       Whereas Harvey Gibson, the Red Cross Commissioner to Great 
     Britain during the war, conceived of the Clubmobiles in 1942 
     as a means of providing hot coffee, fresh doughnuts, and a 
     vital connection to home to thousands of servicemen at dozens 
     of airfields, bases, and camps throughout Great Britain 
     during the buildup to D-Day;
       Whereas thousands of young women, from every State in the 
     United States, volunteered to serve in the Clubmobiles, and 
     were chosen after a rigorous interview process in which less 
     than 20 percent of applicants were selected;
       Whereas, less than 1 month after the invasion of Normandy, 
     France in June 1944, 80 Clubmobiles and 320 American Red 
     Cross volunteers crossed the English Channel and began 
     providing coffee, doughnuts, and a friendly smile to 
     servicemen fighting on the front lines;
       Whereas the Clubmobile volunteers saw service across Europe 
     in France, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, and Germany, and later 
     in the Far East, touching the lives of hundreds of thousands 
     of United States servicemen until victory was achieved;
       Whereas, during the war, the American Red Cross purchased 
     enough flour to produce more than 1,500,000,000 doughnuts, 
     many served from the windows of a Clubmobile;
       Whereas a visit from a Clubmobile, which could serve 
     gallons of coffee and hundreds of doughnuts every minute, was 
     often the most significant morale boost available to 
     servicemen at war;
       Whereas 52 women of the American Red Cross, some of whom 
     served on the Clubmobiles, perished during the war as a 
     result of their service; and
       Whereas 70 years have passed since the Clubmobiles were 
     founded, and only a few women who served in the Clubmobiles 
     remain to share their stories: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) commends the exemplary and courageous service and 
     sacrifice of each of the patriotic women of the United States 
     who served in the American Red Cross Clubmobiles during the 
     Second World War;
       (2) honors the Clubmobile women who lost their lives during 
     the Second World War;
       (3) calls upon historians of the Second World War to 
     recognize and describe the service of the Clubmobiles, and to 
     not let this important piece of United States history be 
     lost; and
       (4) urges the American Red Cross to publicly commemorate 
     the stories of the Clubmobiles and the amazing women who 
     served in them.

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