[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 105 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 105
Commemorating the 100th anniversary of women serving in the United
States Marine Corps.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 6, 2018
Mr. Issa (for himself and Mrs. Dingell) submitted the following
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed
Services
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Commemorating the 100th anniversary of women serving in the United
States Marine Corps.
Whereas the Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels, used the Naval Reserve Act
of 1916, which allowed for the enlistment of ``qualified persons'', to
enlist women;
Whereas, although women did not officially serve in the United States Marine
Corps until 1918, many women have answered the call of duty from their
country, serving with honor and distinction for decades prior, to
include the legendary Lucy Brewer during the War of 1812;
Whereas, before she had the right to vote, Private Opha May Johnson is
officially credited as the first female Marine when she enlisted for
service on August 13, 1918;
Whereas, during 1918, approximately three hundred women entered the Marine Corps
to take over the stateside clerical duties from the battle-ready Marines
who were needed overseas to fight in World War I;
Whereas the Marine Corps Women's Reserve was formed in February 1943;
Whereas Captain Anne Lentz became the first female commissioned officer, Lucille
Ellen McClarren became the first female enlisted Marine under the
direction of Colonel Ruth Cheney Streeter, the first Director of Women
Marine Reservists;
Whereas over twenty-three thousand women joined the Corps during World War II,
performing over two hundred different assignments;
Whereas, after each of the World Wars, all of the military branches began
disenrolling the women who signed up to serve, and thus on June 12,
1948, Congress passed the Women's Armed Services Integration Act of
1948, which integrated women as a permanent part of the regular United
States Armed Forces the following January;
Whereas the 1948 Women's Armed Services Integration Act authorized one hundred
regular female Marine officers, ten warrant officers, and one thousand
enlisted women in a gradual buildup over a two-year period, with
candidates coming from Reserve women Marines still on active duty and
those with prior service;
Whereas female Marines trained at Hunter College and Camp Lejeune and on
February 23, 1949, the 3d Recruit Training Battalion at Marine Corps
Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, was reactivated for
training non-veteran female Marines--fifty female recruits formed the
first all-female platoon of Marines to take a six-week training course,
led by Captain Margaret Henderson;
Whereas although African Americans were given the opportunity to enlist in the
Marine Corps in 1942, the Corps remained segregated until President
Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981 on July 26, 1948, to
desegregate the Armed Forces;
Whereas, in January 1949, Annie E. Graham and Ann Estelle Lamb became the first
African-American females to enlist in the Marine Corps;
Whereas, in the summer of 1949, the first Women Officers Training Class was held
at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, and the quota of seven Regular
commissions were given upon completion of the class;
Whereas, in addition to integrating women into the Regular Marine Corps, a
strong women's Reserve was also developed with the first Women's Reserve
platoon being activated on April 14, 1949;
Whereas, within fifteen months, all thirteen Women's Reserve platoons were
mobilized in response to the Korean Crisis;
Whereas, in April 1960, Master Gunnery Sergeant Geraldine M. Moran became the
first female Marine promoted to the highest enlisted rank, E-9;
Whereas, in 1967, President Johnson signed a law to repeal the limits on the
number of women in the Armed Forces, and Master Sergeant Barbara Jean
Dulinsky became the first of thirty-six female Marines to serve in a
combat zone, when she was assigned to United States Military Assistance
Command Vietnam combat operations center in Saigon;
Whereas, in the 1970s, the majority of billets were opened to women, including
to attend the Drill Instructor Academy, and, in 1977, the first co-ed
Basic School class commenced with 22 females;
Whereas, in 1972, Master Sergeant Catherine G. Murray became the first female
Marine to retire from the Corps, serving honorably for nearly twenty
years; she lived to be one hundred years old and passed away peacefully
on December 20, 2017, and was laid to rest in Arlington National
Cemetery;
Whereas, on May 11, 1978, Colonel Margaret A. Brewer was promoted to brigadier
general, the first female general in the Corps' history;
Whereas, in 1993, Second Lieutenant Sarah Deal became the first female Marine
accepted into naval aviation training;
Whereas, in 1994, Brigadier General Carol Mutter became the first female Marine
promoted to major general, and in 1996, she became the first female
three-star officer across the military branches;
Whereas the first group of women Marines completed integrated Marine Combat
Training Course at Camp Geiger, North Carolina, in 1997;
Whereas First Lieutenant Vernice Armour became the first African-American female
combat pilot in any military service branch, flying the AH-1W Super
Cobra attack helicopter in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and serving two
tours in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom;
Whereas the first all-female Marine Team conducted its first mission in southern
Afghanistan in 2009;
Whereas Sergeant Major Angela Maness became the first female to assume the
duties of the senior enlisted Marine at Marine Barracks Washington,
known as the ``oldest post of the Corps'', in 2013;
Whereas the first 4 females graduated from the School of Infantry in January
2016, and, on September 25, 2017, the first female Marine graduated from
the Infantry Officer Course since the course opened to women in 2012;
and
Whereas today female Marines make up 7.6 percent of the Corps' strength, and
serve in 82 percent of all Military Occupational Specialties: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress--
(1) commemorates the service, dedication, and sacrifice of
our female Marines and their families who have served in the
United States Marine Corps;
(2) commends all the brave female Marines who have served
proudly with distinction and honor--each generation evolving
but always maintaining the proud traditions of the Marine
Corps;
(3) notes that thirty-six female Marines served in Vietnam
between 1967 and 1973, approximately one thousand female
Marines deployed for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm
in 1990, and over fifteen thousand dedicated female Marines
have served in combat in Afghanistan since 2001 and Iraq since
2003, including ten who have made the ultimate sacrifice and
eighty-one who were injured;
(4) celebrates all current and future female Marines for
their continued efforts to answer the country's calling to
serve; and
(5) recognizes that all female Marines are, simply,
Marines.
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