[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 53 (Thursday, March 29, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E380-E381]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CELEBRATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE RESERVE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION 
                     NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS BUILDING

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACK BERGMAN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 29, 2018

  Mr. BERGMAN. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to congratulate the Reserve 
Officers Association of the United States (ROA) on the 50th anniversary 
celebration of their national headquarters building in Washington, D.C. 
On February 22, 1968, the ROA Minuteman Memorial Building officially 
opened at One Constitution Avenue, NE at the corners of 1st Street and 
Constitution across the street from the U.S. Capitol Building and the 
Dirksen Senate Office Building.
  ROA is a professional association of federally commissioned Reserve 
and National Guard officers, non-commissioned officers (E5 and above), 
former officers, and spouses of the uniformed services of the United 
States to include Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard, 
plus the U.S. Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration. ROA advocates for adequate funding of 
equipment and training requirements, recruiting and retention 
incentives, and employment rights for all members of the Reserve 
Components. ROA also advises and educates Congress, the president, and 
the American people on national security issues.
  The Association was founded in 1922 when one hundred forty-four 
officers, most of them combat veterans of World War I, first gathered 
with General of the Armies John J. ``Black Jack'' Pershing at the 
Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., to formally establish a new 
organization.
  During World War II, the Association became inactive ``for the 
duration'' as its members went off to war. ROA was reactivated in 1946, 
and in 1948, Reserve Officers of the Naval Services (RONS) merged with 
ROA. The Marine Corps joined later the same year, with the Coast Guard 
entering in 1949. When law created a separate Department of the Air 
Force, for the first time the nation had, in ROA, a Reserve association 
embracing all the Services.
  Public Law 595 of the 81st Congress established the objective of ROA, 
to ``support and promote the development and execution of a military 
policy for the United States that will provide adequate National 
Defense.'' President Harry S. Truman, one of the early members of ROA, 
signed the charter on June 30, 1950.
  ROA was first headquartered in The Lee House at 1653 Pennsylvania Ave 
NW from 1924 to 1938. The house, which later became the presidential 
Blair-Lee House, was conveniently located directly across the street 
from what was then called the State-War-Navy Building (now the 
Eisenhower Executive Office Building) and cater-cornered to the White 
House. The intervening years between 1938 and 1966 resulted in ROA 
outgrowing several headquarter ``homes'' around the capital city.
  Finally, in early 1966, ROA decided to have a permanent headquarters 
building and purchased three brick boarding houses at 1 Constitution 
Ave NE on Capitol Hill for $314,000 and, thus, began building a 
permanent national headquarters called the Minuteman Memorial Building.
  The architectural firm Mills, Petticord & Mills of Washington, D.C. 
was asked to proceed with the final plans and specifications for the 
new ROA headquarters while a major fundraising campaign began with a 
$1,500,000 goal to offset the cost of purchasing the land and erecting 
a new building. The entire project cost ROA $1,610,156, but with the 
generosity of ROA members and benefactors, no mortgage was needed in 
the end.
  ROA members worldwide were actively involved in the concept, design, 
construction and fundraising of the Minuteman Memorial building, 
including Lieutenant Commander Alan B. Mills, one of the architects of 
the new building.
  So much pride went into the new Minuteman Memorial building that a 
sign at the construction site reminded all passersby that ``The 
Reserves Care Enough to Share Enough to Keep our Country Free.'' This 
legacy continues today with the 821,600 Reserve Component members who 
serve daily from every state and in dozens of countries around the 
globe.

[[Page E381]]

  Mr. Speaker, I ask the 115th Congress to join me in congratulating 
ROA on the 50th anniversary celebration of their national headquarters 
building. On behalf of my constituents, I wish the ROA all the best in 
its future endeavors.

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