[108th Congress Public Law 479]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]


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[DOCID: f:publ479.108]


[[Page 118 STAT. 3905]]

Public Law 108-479
108th Congress

                            Joint Resolution


 
Recognizing the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Peleliu and the end of 
 Imperial Japanese control of Palau during World War II and urging the 
 Secretary of the Interior to work to protect the historic sites of the 
    Peleliu Battlefield National Historic Landmark and to establish 
        commemorative programs honoring the Americans who fought 
           there. <<NOTE: Dec. 21, 2004 -  [H.J. Res. 102]>> 

Whereas on December 7, 1941, Imperial Japan bombed the United States 
    fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, forcing the United States to declare 
    war on Japan;

Whereas by 1944, United States victories in the Southwest and Central 
    Pacific were bringing the war ever closer to Japan;

Whereas on September 15, 1944, after three days of naval gunfire, United 
    States forces landed on the beaches of Peleliu, in the Palau islands 
    chain, with the objective of capturing a vital air field;

Whereas the battle for Peleliu lasted more than two months, during which 
    the United States suffered over 10,000 casualties, including an 
    estimated 1,250 Marines and 540 soldiers killed in action;

Whereas <<NOTE: George H.W. Bush.>> George H.W. Bush, the 41st President 
    of the United States, served as a torpedo-bomber pilot in the Navy 
    and sank an armed Japanese trawler during Operation Snapshot, an 
    operation to weaken Japanese defenses on Peleliu before United 
    States Marines invaded the island in September 1944;

Whereas <<NOTE: George P. Shultz.>> former Secretary of State George P. 
    Shultz served as an officer in the Marine Corps detached to the 81st 
    Infantry Division of the Army during the Battle of Peleliu and 
    participated in the seizure, occupation, and defense of Angaur 
    Island in the Palau islands chain;

Whereas on February 4, 1985, the Secretary of the Interior officially 
    designated the Peleliu battlefield as the ``Peleliu Battlefield 
    National Historic Landmark'';

Whereas the landmark plaque has been mounted and is now displayed in a 
    prominent place in the village of Kloulkubed;

Whereas that designation as a national historic landmark attests not 
    only to the significance of the battlefield site, but also to the 
    integrity of the site;

Whereas the Peleliu battlefield today has considerable physical evidence 
    of the battle, including about 100 identified individual cave sites 
    occupied by the defending Japanese troops, as well as pill boxes, 
    casemates, and large military equipment, both American and Japanese, 
    which played a direct role in the battle for Peleliu; and


[[Page 118 STAT. 3906]]


Whereas thanks to the sacrifices of members of the United States Armed 
    Forces who participated in the Battle of Peleliu, the Republic of 
    Palau today is an independent, democratic nation and a strong ally 
    of the United States: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That the Congress recognizes 
the bravery and courage of the members of the United States Armed Forces 
who participated in the Battle of Peleliu and of all veterans who fought 
in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
    Sec. 2. The Congress urges the Secretary of the Interior--
            (1) to recognize the year 2004 as the 60th anniversary of 
        the Battle of Peleliu and the end of Imperial Japanese control 
        of Palau during World War II;
            (2) to work to protect the historic sites of the Peleliu 
        Battlefield National Historic Landmark; and
            (3) to establish commemorative programs honoring the 
        Americans who fought at those sites.

    Approved December 21, 2004.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.J. Res. 102:
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 150 (2004):
            Sept. 28, considered and passed House.
            Dec. 7, considered and passed Senate.

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