PRINTER'S NO. 1566
No. 123 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY O'PAKE, MELLOW, KASUNIC, TARTAGLIONE, WAGNER,
SCHWARTZ, BRIGHTBILL, STAPLETON, ROBBINS, COSTA, HART,
SALVATORE, TOMLINSON, HELFRICK, HUGHES, EARLL, RHOADES,
LEMMOND, TILGHMAN, THOMPSON, WENGER, DENT, MURPHY, GREENLEAF,
SLOCUM AND BELAN, DECEMBER 7, 1999
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, DECEMBER 7, 1999
A RESOLUTION
1 Commending the veterans of the United States Army, the British
2 Army and the other Allied forces and honoring the men and
3 women of the armed forces who lost their lives during World
4 War II.
5 WHEREAS, The Senate desires to commend all the veterans of
6 World War II and in particular those veterans who bravely fought
7 in the Battle of the Bulge and to recognize their valiant
8 efforts on behalf of the United States during the war; and
9 WHEREAS, This year marks the 55th anniversary of the battle
10 in the European theater of operations known as the Battle of the
11 Bulge, which was fought from December 16, 1944, to January 25,
12 1945; and
13 WHEREAS, This long-fought battle was a major German offensive
14 in the Ardennes forest region of Belgium and Luxembourg which
15 took Allied forces by surprise and was intended to split and
16 disrupt the Allied forces in Europe by breaking through the
17 Allied lines, crippling the fuel supply and exacerbating
1 tensions within the alliance; and
2 WHEREAS, Allied forces participating in the Battle of the
3 Bulge included 600,000 American troops and 55,000 British
4 soldiers; and
5 WHEREAS, The Battle of the Bulge resulted in 81,000 American
6 and 1,400 British casualties, with approximately 19,000
7 Americans and 200 British soldiers killed and thousands wounded,
8 captured or listed as missing in action; and
9 WHEREAS, The Malmedy Massacre, considered the worst atrocity
10 in the European theater during World War II, occurred on
11 December 17, 1944, when 86 unarmed American prisoners of war
12 were gunned down by the German 1st SS Panzer Division; and
13 WHEREAS, The courageous efforts of the American, British and
14 other Allied forces overcame great odds throughout the Battle of
15 the Bulge and were a key part of the success in defeating Nazi
16 Germany in April 1945; therefore be it
17 RESOLVED, That the Senate offers its highest commendation to
18 all the veterans of World War II, the British Army and the
19 veterans who participated in the Battle of the Bulge and honors
20 the brave men and women of the armed forces who made the
21 ultimate sacrifice of their lives during Would War II.
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