[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 105 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 105

 Recognizing 2017 as the 100th anniversary of the creation of the 41st 
                               Division.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 30, 2017

    Mr. Wyden (for himself and Mr. Merkley) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing 2017 as the 100th anniversary of the creation of the 41st 
                               Division.

Whereas the War Department issued General Order No. 95 on July 18, 1917, which 
        formally established the 41st Division within the Army;
Whereas the 41st Division was organized on September 18, 1917, at Camp Greene in 
        North Carolina;
Whereas the 41st Division was originally comprised of National Guard citizen-
        soldiers from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming and also 
        had members from Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico, and 
        the District of Columbia;
Whereas, during World War I, the 41st Division deployed to the Western Front, 
        providing valuable support both as a training and replacement division;
Whereas the 41st Division demobilized at Camp Dix in New Jersey on February 22, 
        1919, following the armistice of November 1918;
Whereas the 41st Division was reorganized and Federally recognized on January 3, 
        1930, with the headquarters of the 41st Division located at Portland, 
        Oregon;
Whereas the 41st Division participated in a set of training exercises in 1937 
        where Oregon soldiers forded the Nisqually River in western Washington 
        in a daring night crossing;
Whereas, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the 41st Division 
        set up defensive positions along the coastline of the United States from 
        the Canadian border to Camp Clatsop in Oregon;
Whereas the 41st Division was reorganized as the 41st Infantry Division on 
        February 17, 1942, and, by the following May, was one of the first 
        divisions of the Armed Forces to deploy overseas to Australia for jungle 
        and amphibious warfare training;
Whereas the 41st Infantry Division participated in the campaigns in New Guinea 
        and the Philippines, enduring some of the most vicious jungle warfare of 
        any allied force during the war;
Whereas the bloodiest engagement of the 41st Infantry Division occurred on the 
        island of Biak against more than 10,000 determined Japanese troops;
Whereas members of the 41st Infantry Division had been known as ``Sunsetters'' 
        after their unit's setting sun insignia but earned a second nickname, 
        ``the Jungleers'', in recognition of their experience and expertise in 
        jungle warfare following the service of the unit in Biak and across the 
        Pacific Theater;
Whereas the 41st Division was inactivated on December 31, 1945, on the island of 
        Honshu in Japan;
Whereas, in 1968, the Oregonian element of the 41st Infantry Division was 
        reorganized and redesignated as the 41st Infantry Brigade within the 
        Oregon National Guard, transferring the colors and honors of its 
        division predecessor;
Whereas elements of the 41st Infantry Brigade--

    (1) deployed to--

    G    (A) Saudi Arabia in 1999 as part of Joint Task Force-Southwest 
Asia;

    G    (B) the Sinai Peninsula in 2001 in support of the Multinational 
Force and Observers and Operation Enduring Freedom;

    G    (C) Iraq in 2003 and 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom; 
and

    G    (D) Afghanistan in 2006 in support of Combined Joint Task Force 
Phoenix; and

    (2) were activated in 2005 to help provide disaster relief in the 
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in Louisiana and Texas, 
respectively;

Whereas the 41st Infantry Brigade was reorganized and redesignated as the 41st 
        Infantry Brigade Combat Team on September 1, 2008;
Whereas the entire 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team deployed to Iraq in 2009, 
        marking the first full deployment for the unit since World War II, to 
        provide base and convoy security in support of Operation Noble Eagle and 
        Operation Iraqi Freedom;
Whereas elements of the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team deployed to 
        Afghanistan in 2014 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation 
        Freedom's Sentinel, and the Resolute Support mission led by the North 
        Atlantic Treaty Organization;
Whereas the citizen-soldiers of the 41st Division, the 41st Infantry Division, 
        and the 41st Infantry Brigade--

    (1) came from a diverse set of backgrounds;

    (2) were employed in a wide range of civilian professions;

    (3) brought their civilian experience to bear in fulfilling their 
military duties;

    (4) served the United States selflessly; and

    (5) fought with bravery and honor across many generations; and

Whereas the citizen-soldiers of the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team continue 
        to uphold this tradition, protecting Oregon and serving the United 
        States both at home and abroad through their courage and dedication: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes--
                    (A) 2017 as the 100th anniversary of the formation 
                of the 41st Division; and
                    (B) the century of service to the United States by 
                the 41st Division;
            (2) expresses gratitude to the many Oregonians and others 
        who served in the 41st Division, the 41st Infantry Division, 
        the 41st Infantry Brigade, and the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat 
        Team;
            (3) honors the memory of the members of the 41st Division, 
        the 41st Infantry Division, the 41st Infantry Brigade, and the 
        41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team who have fallen in the line 
        of duty; and
            (4) respectfully requests that the Secretary of the Senate 
        transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to--
                    (A) General Michael E. Stencel, the Adjutant 
                General of Oregon; and
                    (B) Lieutenant Colonel Eric Riley, commander of the 
                41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
                                 <all>