PRINTER'S NO. 1487
No. 136 Session of 1997
INTRODUCED BY B. SMITH, HERSHEY, THOMAS, BUXTON, FICHTER,
CORRIGAN, FARGO, ARMSTRONG, GEORGE, ROONEY, ARGALL,
McNAUGHTON, NAILOR, MAITLAND, SCHULER, DONATUCCI, COY,
ROBERTS, BELARDI, CAPPABIANCA, CLYMER, FAIRCHILD, LUCYK,
CAWLEY, HESS, TRELLO, ROSS, ITKIN, ZUG, WALKO, McCALL,
MICHLOVIC, TRUE, RUBLEY, WAUGH, FLICK, HALUSKA, SANTONI,
PISTELLA, CLARK, GEIST, JOSEPHS, BARRAR, TRAVAGLIO, WOGAN,
BEBKO-JONES, KENNEY, COWELL, PETRONE, BAKER, MILLER, TRICH,
PESCI, DEMPSEY, MELIO, SEYFERT, SHANER, LAUGHLIN, HENNESSEY,
SATHER, EGOLF, CIVERA, GIGLIOTTI, MANDERINO, HUTCHINSON,
O'BRIEN, RAMOS, STEELMAN, LYNCH, E. Z. TAYLOR, DeLUCA,
YOUNGBLOOD, TIGUE, ORIE, TANGRETTI, CURRY, BUNT, LEH,
BOSCOLA, SAINATO AND SERAFINI, APRIL 15, 1997
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
APRIL 15, 1997
A RESOLUTION
1 Commemorating the outstanding service of the members of the
2 Armed Guard during World Wars I and II and thanking the
3 surviving crewmen of the Armed Guard for their service.
4 WHEREAS, The Armed Guard was created as a branch of the
5 United States Navy during World War I to protect the merchant
6 ships of the United States by maintaining weapons on 384
7 merchant ships; and
8 WHEREAS, The Armed Guard was reactivated during World War II
9 as a response to the German strategy of attacking and sinking
10 merchant ships, even those of neutral countries, which appeared
11 to be bringing goods to the Allied Nations in Europe; and
12 WHEREAS, The Armed Guard served on 6,236 merchant ships
1 during World War II, losing only 710 of them; and
2 WHEREAS, Over 144,900 men served in the Armed Guard as
3 officers, gun crewmen, signalmen and radiomen and were supported
4 by additional land-based personnel assigned to the three support
5 centers at Treasure Island, California, New Orleans and Brooklyn
6 or assigned to the three training schools at Little Creek,
7 Virginia, Gulfport, Mississippi, and San Diego; and
8 WHEREAS, The dedication of and sacrifices made by the men of
9 the Armed Guard, of whom 1,810 made the ultimate sacrifice, is
10 worthy of the recognition and gratitude of this Commonwealth;
11 therefore be it
12 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives commemorate the
13 outstanding service of the 144,970 men who served in the Armed
14 Guard during World War II, and the statistically unavailable
15 number who served in World War I; and be it further
16 RESOLVED, That these men be given the heartfelt thanks of
17 this Commonwealth for their dedicated service and for the
18 sacrifices they made to protect the merchant ships of the United
19 States during these difficult times.
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