PRINTER'S NO. 562
No. 90 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY TIGUE, SEMMEL, DeWEESE, PHILLIPS, BELFANTI,
ARMSTRONG, READSHAW, S. MILLER, BAKER, BARRAR, BUNT,
CAPPELLI, CAWLEY, CORRIGAN, CRUZ, DALLY, DERMODY, FEESE,
FLICK, GEIST, GINGRICH, HARHAI, HENNESSEY, HERSHEY,
HUTCHINSON, KENNEY, KOTIK, LEDERER, GOODMAN, WHEATLEY,
ARGALL, BALDWIN, BELARDI, CALTAGIRONE, CAUSER, CLYMER,
CRAHALLA, DALEY, DeLUCA, FAIRCHILD, FLEAGLE, FORCIER, GEORGE,
GRUCELA, HASAY, HERMAN, HICKERNELL, JAMES, KILLION, LaGROTTA,
LEVDANSKY, MAITLAND, MANN, McGILL, METCALFE, R. MILLER,
NAILOR, PAYNE, PETRONE, RAMALEY, ROHRER, RUBLEY, SANTONI,
SAYLOR, SCHRODER, S. H. SMITH, STABACK, R. STEVENSON,
TANGRETTI, THOMAS, WALKO, WILT, YOUNGBLOOD, ZUG, MAJOR,
MARKOSEK, McILHATTAN, MICOZZIE, MUSTIO, PALLONE, PERZEL,
PICKETT, REICHLEY, ROSS, SAINATO, SATHER, SCAVELLO, B. SMITH,
SOLOBAY, STERN, STURLA, E. Z. TAYLOR, TRUE, WATSON,
WOJNAROSKI, YUDICHAK, CURRY, MUNDY AND J. EVANS,
FEBRUARY 15, 2005
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
FEBRUARY 15, 2005
A RESOLUTION
1 Paying tribute to the heroic efforts and sacrifices of our armed
2 forces during the Battle of Iwo Jima on its 60th anniversary.
3 WHEREAS, A small, remote island in the Western Pacific, Iwo
4 Jima 60 years ago became the scene of one of the fiercest
5 battles of World War II, one that resulted in approximately
6 25,000 American casualties, including about 6,800 American
7 fighting men killed in action; and
8 WHEREAS, Though the toll in human lives was high, capturing
9 this eight-square-mile plot of volcanic soil was vital to the
10 ultimate success of American forces in the Pacific, providing a
1 necessary base for the American fighter planes that would
2 protect bombers flying from Saipan and Tinian to Japan and
3 providing emergency landing fields for the long-range B-29
4 bombers on their hazardous missions; and
5 WHEREAS, Understanding that the price they were expected to
6 pay was high, the soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen whose
7 mission it was to take the island nevertheless set to the task
8 with extraordinary determination; and
9 WHEREAS, From February 19, 1945, when the 5th Marine
10 Amphibious Corps landed on Iwo Jima's sandy beaches, to February
11 23, when the Stars and Stripes were raised over Mount Suribachi,
12 signifying American command over the island, the conduct of
13 these fighting men was such that Admiral Chester Nimitz
14 proclaimed that during these five incredible days "uncommon
15 valor was a common virtue"; and
16 WHEREAS, The American victory, and the symbolic culmination
17 of countless acts of bravery and selfless sacrifice, was
18 captured for all time and etched indelibly in our consciousness
19 in the photograph of the planting of the flag on Mount
20 Suribachi; and
21 WHEREAS, That powerful image evokes profound thoughts and
22 emotions for generations removed from the epic battle; and
23 WHEREAS, It is imperative to remember the combatants involved
24 in those fateful days, individuals for whom the price paid was
25 all too real and, in the case of surviving veterans, for whom
26 the memories will always be of real blood shed, real comrades
27 lost and real sacrifices made; and
28 WHEREAS, It is fitting, on the 60th anniversary of the Battle
29 of Iwo Jima, that Pennsylvanians pay tribute to those
30 combatants, the fallen as well as those who survived to enjoy
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1 the fruits of hard-won liberty; therefore be it
2 RESOLVED, That on the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo
3 Jima the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of
4 Pennsylvania pay tribute to the heroic efforts and sacrifices of
5 our armed forces during the Battle of Iwo Jima; and be it
6 further
7 RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to
8 Helen F. Hicks, the National Commandant of the Marine Corps
9 League.
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