[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 95 (Thursday, June 21, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4428-S4429]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COMMENDING THE WOMEN OF THE AMERICAN RED CROSS CLUBMOBILES
Mr. REID. I now ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be
discharged from further consideration of and the Senate proceed to S.
Res. 471.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk
will report the resolution by title.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 471) commending the efforts of the
women of the American Red Cross Clubmobiles for exemplary
service during the Second World War.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the service of
the women of the American Red Cross Clubmobiles. These brave young
Americans served our country with distinction overseas during the
Second World War.
During the War, the Red Cross was charged by the Armed Forces to
provide for the recreational welfare of the troops. Wherever there was
a sizable group of American servicemen permanently assigned, the Red
Cross established canteens, which provided a bit of respite from
training for war and were tremendously popular. But the canteens were
fixed sites, and did not reach many of the combat troops garrisoned at
small locations across the English countryside.
In order to extend a taste of home to the troops, the Red Cross
Commissioner for Great Britain, Harvey Gibson, thought up the idea of
the ``Clubmobile,'' a mobile kitchen set up in an old London bus. In
late 1942, several of these Clubmobiles began operating between dozens
of bases around the country, serving coffee and doughnuts to those
preparing for D-day.
Shortly after the beachhead at Normandy was successfully secured, 80
Clubmobiles and 320 volunteers crossed the English Channel to begin
operating their mobile kitchens near the front lines. Each Clubmobile
group, consisting of eight two-and-a-half ton trucks named for an
American city or State, was attached to an Army Corps and moved with
the unit's support elements, often going forward to provide the troops
with American music, hot coffee, and doughnuts. Like every soldier, the
Clubmobile women were in ``for the duration.'' By War's end, the
Clubmobiles were operating across Europe, from southern Italy to
northern Germany, and in the Far East from the jungles of Burma to the
shores of Tokyo Bay.
A visit from a Clubmobile was one of the most significant events for
a young G.I. in combat far from home, and the women of the Clubmobiles,
young women from every single State, acted as friends and sisters to
the troops with whom they interacted.
These women were trailblazers, every bit as much as the Navy's Women
Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service--WAVES--the Women's Army
Corps--WACS--and the Women Airforce Service Pilots--WASPS. They were
young, independent, and patriotic. They joined for a variety of
reasons, some for adventure, some to serve in uniform as close to
combat as they were then allowed, and some to honor the sacrifices of
their own fathers, brothers, or friends. Every one of them was
dedicated to their country, and volunteered for the Clubmobiles rather
than an easier or safer job at home.
The dangers of War were real. During the War, 52 Red Cross women lost
their lives, some of them from the Clubmobiles. Their stories are those
of a nation at war.
Elizabeth Richardson joined the Red Cross in 1944 after graduating
from Milwaukee-Downer College and after a brief career in advertising.
She helped pilot the Clubmobile named Kansas City throughout England,
Holland and France, listening to soldiers' stories while cracking jokes
and sharing her own. Two months after V-E Day, Liz's plane crashed en
route to Paris. Liz Richardson, dead at 27, now lies interred at the
Normandy American Cemetery. Before she died, she said about her
service, ``I wouldn't trade this for anything else.''
Those sentiments are shared by Margaret ``Margo'' Hemingway
Harrington of Rye, NH, one of the few surviving Clubmobile women. She
said, ``I just got itchy feet, and thought I should be doing something
more.''
The women of the Clubmobiles touched the lives of hundreds of
thousands of U.S. servicemen. The Red Cross alone purchased enough
flour to make 1.5 million doughnuts, most of which were served through
the windows of a Clubmobile.
To honor their memory, 70 years after they were established, Senator
Shaheen and I, joined by 11 of our colleagues, introduced Senate
Resolution 471, which commends the exemplary and courageous service of
the Clubmobiles, honors those that lost their lives, calls upon
historians to not let this important piece of American history be lost,
and urges the Red Cross to publically commemorate their stories.
Honoring them now is critically important, because only a very few of
these women remain. Their stories are every bit as vibrant and
important to our victory as those of the men who valiantly fought to
defend our freedom. I urge every one of my colleagues to support this
Resolution.
Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to; a
Collins amendment to the preamble, which is at the desk, be agreed to;
the preamble, as amended, be agreed to; and that the motion to
reconsider be laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 471) was agreed to.
[[Page S4429]]
The amendment (No. 2466) was agreed to, as follows:
In the preamble, strike the third whereas clause through
the sixth whereas clause and insert the following:
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;
Whereas, between July and August 1944, less than 1 month
after the invasion of Normandy, France, 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;
The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
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;
Whereas, between July and August 1944, less than 1 month
after the invasion of Normandy, France, 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 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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