[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 216 (Tuesday, December 23, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING RIEDER GRUNSETH AND THE NORWEGIAN SPECIAL OPERATIONS GROUP

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM EMMER

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 23, 2025

  Mr. EMMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the contributions of 
the Norwegian Americans in the 99th Infantry Battalion during World War 
II. I want to extend my sincerest gratitude to Jon Grunseth for sharing 
his family's history with us.
  2025 marked the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII. The 99th 
Infantry Battalion, also known as the Norwegian American Ski Battalion, 
hailed from Minnesota. Rieder Grunseth, a Norwegian born immigrant to 
Wayzata, Minnesota, dropped out of law school at the University of 
Minnesota to enlist in the U.S. Army in 1942. As a member of the 99th 
Infantry Battalion, Rieder Grunseth provided us with these accounts.
  The 99th Infantry Battalion, also referred to as the ``99th'', 
consisted of mostly Norwegian born men, specially trained in mountain 
warfare as ski troopers. In 1943, over 70 of these men were recruited 
by the Office of Strategic Services, the U.S. intelligence agency 
during WWII, for special operations in the war. The 99th had many great 
accomplishments during WWII, which led to the Allied powers success. I 
would like to highlight one of their greatest accomplishments, 
Operation Percy Red in August 1944. Seventeen of these brave men 
parachuted into France to help the French resistance liberate the Haut 
Vienne region from the Nazis. Percy Red was one of the most successful 
American behind-the-lines actions during the war in Europe. The story 
further details how these men went on to China and Vietnam in the 
summer of 1945 to assist the forces of freedom in that part of the 
world.
  Historic events like these are the reason the Allied troops prevailed 
in WWII. These men served our Nation heroically, and we as Americans 
are sincerely grateful for it. Their sacrifices will never be 
forgotten.

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