[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 56 (Thursday, March 30, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2154-S2155]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 105--RECOGNIZING 2017 AS THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
                     CREATION OF THE 41ST DIVISION

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

                              S. Res. 105

       Whereas the War Department issued General Order No. 95 on 
     July 18, 1917, which formally established the 41st Division 
     within the Army;
       Whereas the 41st Division was organized on September 18, 
     1917, at Camp Greene in North Carolina;
       Whereas the 41st Division was originally comprised of 
     National Guard citizen-soldiers from Oregon, Washington, 
     Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming and also had members from 
     Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico, and the 
     District of Columbia;
       Whereas, during World War I, the 41st Division deployed to 
     the Western Front, providing valuable support both as a 
     training and replacement division;
       Whereas the 41st Division demobilized at Camp Dix in New 
     Jersey on February 22,

[[Page S2155]]

     1919, following the armistice of November 1918;
       Whereas the 41st Division was reorganized and Federally 
     recognized on January 3, 1930, with the headquarters of the 
     41st Division located at Portland, Oregon;
       Whereas the 41st Division participated in a set of training 
     exercises in 1937 where Oregon soldiers forded the Nisqually 
     River in western Washington in a daring night crossing;
       Whereas, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, 
     the 41st Division set up defensive positions along the 
     coastline of the United States from the Canadian border to 
     Camp Clatsop in Oregon;
       Whereas the 41st Division was reorganized as the 41st 
     Infantry Division on February 17, 1942, and, by the following 
     May, was one of the first divisions of the Armed Forces to 
     deploy overseas to Australia for jungle and amphibious 
     warfare training;
       Whereas the 41st Infantry Division participated in the 
     campaigns in New Guinea and the Philippines, enduring some of 
     the most vicious jungle warfare of any allied force during 
     the war;
       Whereas the bloodiest engagement of the 41st Infantry 
     Division occurred on the island of Biak against more than 
     10,000 determined Japanese troops;
       Whereas members of the 41st Infantry Division had been 
     known as ``Sunsetters'' after their unit's setting sun 
     insignia but earned a second nickname, ``the Jungleers'', in 
     recognition of their experience and expertise in jungle 
     warfare following the service of the unit in Biak and across 
     the Pacific Theater;
       Whereas the 41st Division was inactivated on December 31, 
     1945, on the island of Honshu in Japan;
       Whereas, in 1968, the Oregonian element of the 41st 
     Infantry Division was reorganized and redesignated as the 
     41st Infantry Brigade within the Oregon National Guard, 
     transferring the colors and honors of its division 
     predecessor;
       Whereas elements of the 41st Infantry Brigade--
       (1) deployed to--
       (A) Saudi Arabia in 1999 as part of Joint Task Force-
     Southwest Asia;
       (B) the Sinai Peninsula in 2001 in support of the 
     Multinational Force and Observers and Operation Enduring 
     Freedom;
       (C) Iraq in 2003 and 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi 
     Freedom; and
       (D) Afghanistan in 2006 in support of Combined Joint Task 
     Force Phoenix; and
       (2) were activated in 2005 to help provide disaster relief 
     in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in 
     Louisiana and Texas, respectively;

       Whereas the 41st Infantry Brigade was reorganized and 
     redesignated as the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team on 
     September 1, 2008;
       Whereas the entire 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team 
     deployed to Iraq in 2009, marking the first full deployment 
     for the unit since World War II, to provide base and convoy 
     security in support of Operation Noble Eagle and Operation 
     Iraqi Freedom;
       Whereas elements of the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team 
     deployed to Afghanistan in 2014 in support of Operation 
     Enduring Freedom, Operation Freedom's Sentinel, and the 
     Resolute Support mission led by the North Atlantic Treaty 
     Organization;
       Whereas the citizen-soldiers of the 41st Division, the 41st 
     Infantry Division, and the 41st Infantry Brigade--
       (1) came from a diverse set of backgrounds;
       (2) were employed in a wide range of civilian professions;
       (3) brought their civilian experience to bear in fulfilling 
     their military duties;
       (4) served the United States selflessly; and
       (5) fought with bravery and honor across many generations; 
     and

       Whereas the citizen-soldiers of the 41st Infantry Brigade 
     Combat Team continue to uphold this tradition, protecting 
     Oregon and serving the United States both at home and abroad 
     through their courage and dedication: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes--
       (A) 2017 as the 100th anniversary of the formation of the 
     41st Division; and
       (B) the century of service to the United States by the 41st 
     Division;
       (2) expresses gratitude to the many Oregonians and others 
     who served in the 41st Division, the 41st Infantry Division, 
     the 41st Infantry Brigade, and the 41st Infantry Brigade 
     Combat Team;
       (3) honors the memory of the members of the 41st Division, 
     the 41st Infantry Division, the 41st Infantry Brigade, and 
     the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team who have fallen in the 
     line of duty; and
       (4) respectfully requests that the Secretary of the Senate 
     transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to--
       (A) General Michael E. Stencel, the Adjutant General of 
     Oregon; and
       (B) Lieutenant Colonel Eric Riley, commander of the 41st 
     Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

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