PRINTER'S NO. 404
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No. 39
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY ROBINSON, ROTHMAN, KANE, BROOKS, ARGALL, MARTIN,
FONTANA, BROWN, LANGERHOLC, PHILLIPS-HILL, SANTARSIERO,
COSTA, PENNYCUICK, KEEFER, TARTAGLIONE, STEFANO, VOGEL,
J. WARD AND STREET, MARCH 17, 2025
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, MARCH 17, 2025
A RESOLUTION
1 Commemorating February 19, 2025, as "The Battle of Iwo Jima
2 Remembrance Day" in Pennsylvania.
3 WHEREAS, February 19, 2025, marks the 80th anniversary of the
4 start of the Battle of Iwo Jima, where the United States Armed
5 Forces captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Empire;
6 and
7 WHEREAS, On February 19, 1945, the amphibious landing began
8 by the United States Marines with 450 American ships, 60,000
9 Marines and 10,000 Navy Seabees and occurred off the coast of
10 Iwo Jima; and
11 WHEREAS, Shortly after 9 a.m., under protective Naval
12 gunfire, the United States Marines arrived on the beach of Iwo
13 Jima and encountered little enemy resistance until the Japanese
14 emerged from their underground positions; and
15 WHEREAS, The 36-day assault from February 19 to March 26,
16 1945, claimed the lives of 6,821 American troops and wounded
17 19,217, and two soldiers were taken into captivity; and
 1 WHEREAS, The Japanese on the island lost 18,844 of their
2 22,060 soldiers in the fighting or by ritual suicide, an
3 additional 216 were captured and approximately 300 were hidden
4 in caves and tunnels for days; and
5 WHEREAS, The Battle of Iwo Jima saw one-third of all Marines
6 killed in World War II, resulting in the battle with the most
7 casualties in Marine Corps history; and
8 WHEREAS, After the Battle of Iwo Jima, the island served as
9 an emergency landing site for more than 2,200 B-29 bombers;
10 therefore be it
11 RESOLVED, That the Senate commemorate February 19, 2025, as
12 "The Battle of Iwo Jima Remembrance Day" in Pennsylvania; and be
13 it further
14 RESOLVED, That local governments and communities throughout
15 this Commonwealth be encouraged to conduct appropriate "The
16 Battle of Iwo Jima Remembrance Day" observances to ensure that
17 the many sacrifices of that day are not forgotten.
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