[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 188 (Thursday, November 16, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7304-S7306]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 340--COMMEMORATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 3D 
                           INFANTRY DIVISION

  Mr. PERDUE (for himself, Mr. Isakson, and Mr. Inhofe) submitted the 
following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 340

       Whereas November 21, 2017, is the 100th anniversary of the 
     organization of the 3d Infantry Division;
       Whereas the 3d Infantry Division was organized in 1917 as 
     the 3d Division, with headquarters at Camp Greene in North 
     Carolina, and has been on continuous duty ever since;
       Whereas, from its inception, the 3d Infantry Division and 
     the component units of the 3d Infantry Division have played a 
     vital role in the history of the United States by serving 
     in--
       (1) World War I;
       (2) World War II;
       (3) the Korean War;
       (4) the Cold War;
       (5) Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm (commonly 
     known as ``the Persian Gulf War'');
       (6) Operation Enduring Freedom;
       (7) Operation Iraqi Freedom;
       (8) Operation Freedom's Sentinel;
       (9) Operation Resolute Support;
       (10) Operation Atlantic Resolve; and
       (11) a number of other named and unnamed operations around 
     the world;
       Whereas elements of the 3d Division first went into combat 
     in March 1918 at the beginning of the German offensive 
     efforts that were designed to end World War I;
       Whereas, soon after the 3d Division was established, the 
     division began to gain prestige for its service during World 
     War I;
       Whereas, in July of 1918, the success of the 3d Division at 
     the Battle of Chateau-Thierry earned the division, and 
     especially the 38th Infantry of the division, the legendary 
     nickname ``Rock of the Marne'' because the division held 
     steadfast against German soldiers who were marching toward 
     Paris in what would be the last German offensive of World War 
     I;
       Whereas, during the Battle of Chateau-Thierry, division 
     commander Major General

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     Joseph Dickman gave his famous order to hold the defensive 
     position along the Marne River in French, stating, ``Nous 
     resterons la!'', which in English means, ``We shall remain 
     here!'', providing what would become the official motto of 
     the 3d Division;
       Whereas the 3d Division played an important role in other 
     major campaigns of World War I, including the campaigns of--
       (1) Aisne;
       (2) Champagne-Marne;
       (3) Aisne-Marne;
       (4) Saint-Mihiel; and
       (5) Meuse-Argonne;
       Whereas 2 soldiers of the 3d Division, Private First Class 
     John L. Barkley and First Lieutenant George Price Hays, 
     earned the Medal of Honor during World War I;
       Whereas, after World War I, the 3d Division was one of only 
     3 divisions of the Army to remain on active duty, a strong 
     testament to the steadfastness, combat experience, and 
     mission success of the division;
       Whereas the 3d Division was redesignated as the 3d Infantry 
     Division in 1942;
       Whereas the 3d Infantry Division was again called into 
     action in November of 1942, entering World War II as one of 
     the first divisions of the United States to fight the Nazi 
     empire in north Africa;
       Whereas the 3d Infantry Division made an amphibious landing 
     in French Morocco and quickly captured the city of 
     Casablanca, distinguishing itself as one of the premier 
     assault units of the Army;
       Whereas the 3d Infantry Division advanced through Morocco, 
     Algeria, and Tunisia before participating in the amphibious 
     assault on Sicily;
       Whereas, during the campaign to take control of Sicily, and 
     before moving to mainland Italy, the 3d Infantry Division 
     earned a reputation as one of the best divisions in the 
     Seventh Army under the command of Lieutenant General George 
     Patton;
       Whereas, between January and May of 1943, the 3d Infantry 
     Division participated in an amphibious assault operation and 
     beachhead defense at Anzio on the West Coast of Italy, 
     repelling multiple attacks by 3 German divisions, fighting 
     valiantly, and, on 1 day, suffering 995 casualties, once 
     again proving to be a steadfast ``Rock'';
       Whereas the 3d Infantry Division, after breaking out of the 
     Anzio beachhead and reaching Rome, participated in Operation 
     Dragoon, the Allied invasion of southern France;
       Whereas the 3d Infantry Division, after months of intense 
     fighting, entered Germany and crossed the Rhine River, making 
     its way through Nuremberg, Munich, and Salzburg before 
     assisting in the capture of Adolf Hitler's mountain retreat 
     near Berchtesgaden in April of 1945;
       Whereas, as of the date on which Germany unconditionally 
     surrendered in May of 1945, the 3d Infantry Division had 
     suffered 35,000 casualties during World War II, while 
     fighting and marching 3,200 miles from Casablanca to 
     Salzburg;
       Whereas, during World War II, the 3d Infantry Division was 
     the only division of the United States to serve in 10 major 
     campaigns, specifically the campaigns of--
       (1) Algeria-French Morocco;
       (2) Tunisia;
       (3) Sicily;
       (4) Naples-Foggia;
       (5) Anzio;
       (6) Rome-Arno;
       (7) southern France;
       (8) Rhineland;
       (9) Ardennes-Alsace; and
       (10) Central Europe;
       Whereas, in recognition of exemplary service during World 
     War II, the 3d Infantry Division was awarded--
       (1) the French Croix de Guerre with Palm (and streamer 
     embroidered with ``Colmar'');
       (2) the French Fourragere, for seizing the last Nazi 
     stronghold in France; and
       (3) the Presidential Unit Citation;
       Whereas, during World War II, 39 soldiers of the 3d 
     Infantry Division earned the Medal of Honor;
       Whereas one of the most decorated soldiers of World War II, 
     Lieutenant Audie Murphy, served in the 3d Infantry Division;
       Whereas the 3d Infantry Division was again called to 
     service in September of 1950 when the first elements of the 
     division arrived on the Korean Peninsula in support of the 
     Government of the Republic of Korea and its military, 
     contributing to operations in Hamhung-Hungnam in 1950 and the 
     recapture of the South Korean capital of Seoul in 1951, 
     following the surge of Chinese troops;
       Whereas, from November 30 to December 24, 1950, the 3d 
     Infantry Division served as the covering force for the 
     largest beachhead evacuation in the history of the military 
     of the United States, facilitating the escape of 105,000 
     troops, 91,000 refugees, 17,500 vehicles, and 350,000 tons of 
     cargo from Hungnam, after which the division moved from the 
     East Coast to the West Coast of South Korea and helped to 
     fight back the Chinese forces that had overtaken Seoul;
       Whereas, in 1951, elements of the 3d Infantry Division 
     helped to recapture Seoul and were instrumental in pushing 
     Chinese forces back to the 38th parallel and in enduring the 
     brunt of Chinese attempted attacks to retake Seoul, earning 
     the division the new nickname, the ``Rock of Seoul'';
       Whereas, during the Korean War, the 3d Infantry Division 
     also became known as the ``Fire Brigade'' for its quick 
     responses to crises;
       Whereas the 3d Infantry Division participated in 8 
     campaigns during the Korean War and had 13 Medal of Honor 
     recipients as a result of that service;
       Whereas, in recognition of exemplary service during the 
     Korean War, the 3d Infantry Division and its subordinate 
     units received--
       (1) the Presidential Unit Citation;
       (2) the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation (and 
     streamer embroidered with ``Uijongbu Corridor'');
       (3) the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation (and 
     streamer embroidered with ``Iron Triangle''); and
       (4) the Chryssoun Aristion Andrias-Bravery Gold Medal of 
     Greece (and streamer embroidered with ``Korea'');
       Whereas the 3d Infantry Division returned to Germany in 
     April 1958 to help secure Western Europe from the threat of 
     attack by the nations, headed by the Soviet Union, that had 
     signed the Warsaw Pact and remained stationed in Germany 
     until 1996 to assist fellow member nations of the North 
     Atlantic Treaty Organization (referred to in this preamble as 
     ``NATO''), directly contributing to the peaceful end of the 
     Cold War;
       Whereas, in December 1990, in response to the invasion of 
     Kuwait by Saddam Hussein, the 3d Brigade of the 3d Infantry 
     Division deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operations 
     Desert Storm and Desert Shield;
       Whereas the 3d Brigade of the 3d Infantry Division 
     distinguished itself as the Advanced Guard Brigade leading 
     the main attack of the 1st Armored Division and VII Corps 
     against the Iraqi Republican Guard Forces Command as part of 
     the 100-hour ground assault on Iraq from February 24 to 28, 
     1991;
       Whereas, as of the date on which the Persian Gulf War 
     ended, the 3d Brigade of the 3d Infantry Division had, during 
     that conflict, destroyed 105 enemy tanks, 70 armored 
     personnel carriers, and 92 artillery pieces and captured 836 
     prisoners;
       Whereas, from 2000 to 2001, elements of the 3d Infantry 
     Division deployed to Bosnia and Kosovo in support of the 
     United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (commonly 
     known as ``UNMIBH'');
       Whereas the 3d Infantry Division began its participation in 
     Operation Iraqi Freedom on March 20, 2003, leading the 
     coalition assault into Iraq;
       Whereas, as of April 4, 2003, the 3d Infantry Division had 
     entered the Saddam International Airport and renamed it the 
     Baghdad International Airport;
       Whereas, from April 5 to 9, 2003, the 3d Infantry Division 
     was the vanguard unit in the march to Baghdad, leading what 
     would become known as the ``Thunder Run'' into the heart of 
     the city and effectively crippling the Iraqi regime;
       Whereas, from January 2005 to January 2006, the 3d Infantry 
     Division returned to Iraq to provide security for independent 
     elections and the peaceful transfer of power to newly and 
     democratically elected Iraqi officials;
       Whereas the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 3d Infantry 
     Division was the first Army brigade to serve 3 tours in Iraq;
       Whereas, in March 2007, as part of Task Force Marne, the 3d 
     Infantry Division was given a large area of responsibility in 
     Iraq, including Multi-National Forces-Center and Multi-
     National Forces-West;
       Whereas Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith was posthumously 
     awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Iraq in 2003;
       Whereas the 3d Infantry Division had units in every region 
     of Iraq;
       Whereas, in November 2009, the Combat Aviation Brigade of 
     the 3d Infantry Division deployed to Afghanistan as Task 
     Force Falcon;
       Whereas, in 2012, the 3d Infantry Division deployed to 
     Afghanistan in support of operations in Regional Command-
     South, assisting with the closure of more than 60 forward 
     operating bases and providing support to various units in the 
     theater of operation;
       Whereas, in 2015, multiple units of the 3d Infantry 
     Division deployed to Europe in support of Operation Atlantic 
     Resolve, training with NATO allies to remain prepared for 
     contingency operations in Europe;
       Whereas, as of 2017, a contingent of 3d Infantry Division 
     soldiers serve in Afghanistan in support of Operation 
     Freedom's Sentinel, taking on the train and assist mission as 
     the United States Forces-Afghanistan's National Support 
     Element alongside Afghan National Security Forces;
       Whereas, as of 2017, the 3d Infantry Division is still a 
     premier fighting force with units deployed in support of 
     contingency operations across 4 distinct combatant command 
     areas of responsibility in more than 20 countries and under 5 
     separate named operations, including Operation Resolute 
     Support in Iraq, Operation Freedom's Sentinel in Afghanistan, 
     and Operation Atlantic Resolve in Eastern Europe;
       Whereas the 3d Infantry Division has been honorably 
     stationed in Fort Stewart, Georgia, since fiscal year 1996; 
     and
       Whereas, since 1917, the 3d Infantry Division has--
       (1) been deployed around the world, assisting in combat and 
     noncombat missions;
       (2) endured the loss of more than 10,000 soldiers in combat 
     operations; and
       (3) had 55 soldiers receive the Medal of Honor, a greater 
     number than from any other division: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) commemorates the 100th anniversary of the 3d Infantry 
     Division on November 21, 2017, and reveres its century of 
     service to the military of the United States;

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       (2) applauds the 3d Infantry Division for continuing to 
     serve with one of the most successful combat records of any 
     division of the Army;
       (3) commends the 3d Infantry Division for continuing to 
     exemplify its motto, ``Nous resterons la!'', which in English 
     means, ``We shall remain here!'';
       (4) honors--
       (A) the memory of the more than 10,000 soldiers of the 3d 
     Infantry Division who have made the ultimate sacrifice in 
     service to the United States; and
       (B) the 55 members of the 3d Infantry Division who have 
     received the Medal of Honor, a greater number than from any 
     other division of the Army;
       (5) expresses, on behalf of the people of the United 
     States, gratitude, support, and commitment to all 3d Infantry 
     Division soldiers, veterans, and families, both past and 
     present; and
       (6) recognizes the esteemed place of the 3d Infantry 
     Division in the annals of the history of the United States.

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