[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 132 (Thursday, August 3, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S4823]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 88TH REGIONAL SUPPORT COMMAND

  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, today I wish to honor the 100th 
anniversary of the 88th Regional Support Command. I am humbled to 
recognize the men and women who are bravely fighting for our country's 
freedom.
  The 88th Regional Support Command, RSC, began as the 88th Infantry 
Division, ID. Organized in August 1917 at Camp Dodge, IA, the members 
of the ``Cloverleaf Division'' fought among the Allied Forces in the 
Alsace Campaign. They returned home following the war, and the Army 
demobilized the unit in June 1919.
  Three years later, the 88th reformed within the Organized Reserve, 
with headquarters in Minneapolis and subordinate units elsewhere in 
Minnesota, Iowa, and North Dakota. The 88th ID mobilized in 1942 to 
serve the United States in World War II. It was one of the first units 
comprised solely of drafted soldiers. Despite a lack of experience, the 
88th quickly gained a reputation as an effective unit of well-trained 
soldiers, which the Germans referred to as the ``Blue Devils.''
  The 88th ID fought on the front lines during the 1944 Italian 
campaign. Its arrival provided much-needed relief to the allied 
soldiers fighting on the Italian front. Led by Major General John E. 
Sloan, the 88th was the first division to enter the newly liberated 
Rome. After 100 straight days of activation, the Blue Devils were 
finally scheduled to receive a much-needed respite from the war. 
However, MG Sloan quickly instituted a training regimen that kept his 
soldiers in fighting condition, and they were ordered to head north to 
combat the Germans and provide support for American soldiers in 
Northern Italy.
  For 344 days, the 88th Infantry fought to protect our American values 
during World War II. At the beginning of the war, MG Sloan promised, 
``the glory of the colors will never be sullied, as long as one man of 
the 88th still lives.'' Although many lives were lost, the 88th 
Infantry Division was deactivated in October 1947, having fulfilled MG 
Sloan's promise.
  In April 1996, the 88th ID was redesignated as the 88th RSC. 
Headquartered in Fort McCoy, WI, the 88th RSC provides logistical and 
administrative support for Army Reserve soldiers. Whether they are 
providing training logistics, equipment maintenance or medical support, 
the members of the 88th RSC are making a difference for servicemen and 
servicewomen from Wisconsin all the way to the Pacific Coast.
  Today the 88th ID lives on through the 88th Regional Support Command. 
Having fought in the Vietnam war, Operation Desert Shield/Storm, 
Bosnia, Kosovo, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi 
Freedom, the soldiers of the 88th RSC continue to support the more than 
55,000 U.S. Army Reserve soldiers, families, and civilians across the 
United States. I am proud to recognize 100 years of their remarkable 
service and accomplishments.

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