[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Page 29172]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



        HONORING ALASKA'S VETERANS OF UNDERAGE MILITARY SERVICE

 Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, earlier this year the Alaska 
Legislature passed a resolution honoring Alaska's Veterans of Underage 
Military Service. This is an important veterans organization in Alaska, 
and I would like to let the Senate know a little bit about it by 
submitting the text of the state resolution in the Record.
  I ask that the resolution be printed in the Record.
  The resolution follows:

  Resolution of the Alaska Legislature Honoring Alaska's Veterans of 
                       Underage Military Service

       The Twenty-first Alaska State Legislature is proud to 
     commend Veterans of Underage Military Service and its members 
     for their attempts to locate and assist all underage veterans 
     of America's armed forces.
       Throughout history, nations have called upon their youth to 
     fight their wars, and it is inevitable that some men and 
     women under the legal age, usually driven by strong 
     patriotism, have enlisted in the armed forces. In some 
     instances, these youth were discovered and separated from the 
     service having already seen action. After being discharged 
     from one branch of service for being underage, many promptly 
     enlisted in another branch of the armed services.
       The Twenty-first Alaska State Legislature recognizes these 
     men and women who understood the importance of fighting for 
     freedom and honors their valiant efforts as defenders of the 
     United States of America during times of war and peril. The 
     Veterans of Underage Military Service Veterans was formed in 
     1990 to help such individuals, who were frequently discharged 
     from the service and stripped of their awards and their 
     military benefits.
       The goal of the Veterans of Underage Military Service 
     organization is to contact all veterans who served in any 
     branch of the United States Armed Forces when they were under 
     legal age and to advise and assist them in obtaining a proper 
     discharge and veterans' benefits. A secondary goal is to 
     establish a historical record of underage veterans by 
     publishing their names, deeds, and stories. The organization 
     currently consists of more than 1,000 members nationwide who 
     served in the United States Armed Forces before they were of 
     legal age.
       The Twenty-first Alaska State Legislature wishes to 
     recognize Alaska's own members of the Veterans of Underage 
     Military Service: Judd Clemens, Michael Mitchell, Gordon 
     Severson, Gene Wheeler, Larry Connolly, Miles Pierce, Elsie 
     Sexton, and Thor Weatherby.
       We, the members of the Twenty-first Alaska State 
     Legislature honor the Veterans of Underage Military Service. 
     We commend them for their attempts to locate and assist all 
     underage veterans of the United States Armed Forces and 
     support their efforts to make ``whole'' these national 
     heroes.

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