67th Legislature SJ 19.1
1 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 19
2 INTRODUCED BY M. CUFFE
3
4 A JOINT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF
5 MONTANA RECOGNIZING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE END OF WORLD WAR II (1941 TO 1946)
6 AND MONTANA'S VETERANS OF THAT WAR.
7
8 WHEREAS, Montana's 163rd Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Division, the Jungleers, was called to
9 active duty on September 16, 1940, for 1 year of training; and
10 WHEREAS, on the same day the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 introduced the first
11 peacetime conscription for men between the ages of 21 and 35 in United States history; and
12 WHEREAS, on March 11, 1941, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Lend
13 Lease Act, allowing Britain, China, and other allied nations to purchase military equipment and to defer
14 payment until after the war; and
15 WHEREAS, in August 1941, President Roosevelt signed an extension of service of 6 months for those
16 Americans who had been called up in 1940; and
17 WHEREAS, on December 7, 1941, the United States came under attack by Japanese forces at Pearl
18 Harbor and locations throughout the Pacific; and
19 WHEREAS, on December 8, 1941, the United States declared war on Japan; and
20 WHEREAS, on December 11, 1941, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. The United
21 States reciprocated and declared war on Germany and Italy; and
22 WHEREAS, the largest ever mobilization of American manpower continued, ultimately calling up over
23 15 million United States men and women to serve from 1941 to the end of hostilities in 1945; and
24 WHEREAS, over 75,000 Montanans ultimately were part of that force; and
25 WHEREAS, over 6,000 women from Montana volunteered to serve in the various military services and
26 auxiliary services in World War II to include the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, Women's Army Corps, Army
27 Nurse Corps, United States Navy Reserve (women's reserve), Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency
28 Service, Women's Reserve of the Coast Guard, Women Airforce Service Pilots, Public Health Service, and the
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1 Cadet Nurse Corps; and
2 WHEREAS, many thousands of Native American men and women of Montana served in all major
3 elements of the United States military during World War II with honor and great patriotism; and
4 WHEREAS, Montana Native Americans served as infantrymen, code talkers, air crewmen, nurses, and
5 many other roles within the United States Army, Army Air Corps, United States Marine Corps, United States
6 Navy, and the United States Coast Guard; and
7 WHEREAS, the 163rd Infantry Regiment, (Montana National Guard), 41st Infantry Division served with
8 distinction at Fort Lewis, Washington, and various locations on the west coast of the United States until its
9 departure to Australia in April 1942 as part of the Southwest Pacific Command, going on to fight in the Pacific
10 Theater of World War II; and
11 WHEREAS, Montana's 163rd Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Division (Jungleers) was recognized as
12 the first United States unit to defeat the Imperial Japanese Forces in the Battle of Sanananda, Papua New
13 Guinea, in January 1943, subsequently being recognized by the 28th Montana Legislative Assembly by
14 resolution and by a famous painting by Irwin "Shorty" Shope in April 1943; and
15 WHEREAS, the 163rd Infantry Regiment served in the Pacific Theater in three major campaigns; the
16 Papuan Campaign 1943, winning the battles at Sanananda, Gona, and Kumsi River; the New Guinea
17 Campaign 1944, winning the battles of Aitape, Wadke, and "Bloody" Biak; the Southern Philippines Campaign
18 1945, winning battles at Zamboanga, Sanga-sanga Island, and the Battle of Jolo and the key village of Calinan
19 against seasoned Japanese land forces, stopping only because of the cessation of hostilities due to the
20 dropping of atomic weapons at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and finally becoming an occupation force on the
21 Japanese mainland; and
22 WHEREAS, the 163rd Infantry Regiment had over 230 members of Native Americans, representing
23 eight tribal nations located in Montana, who fought with distinction as Jungleers; and
24 WHEREAS, the 163rd Infantry Regiment was demobilized in Japan on January 1, 1946, and sent home
25 after over 5 years of active duty; and
26 WHEREAS, the First Special Service Force, a unique joint United States-Canadian special operations
27 force, was secretly formed at Fort William Henry Harrison near Helena, Montana, in April through July 1942, to
28 organize and train for conduct of the mission known as Operation Plough; and
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1 WHEREAS, the First Special Service Force went on to serve in both the Pacific Theater and the
2 European Theater, with battle credits of the Aleutians Campaign 1943, Naples-Foggia Campaign 1943 to 1944,
3 Naples-Foggia Campaign (Monte la Difensa, Remetanea, Sammucro, Radicosa, Majo, and Vischhiataro),
4 Anzio Rome-Arno Campaign 1944, and were recognized as being the first unit into Rome on June 4, 1944.
5 After helping secure the Holy City they went on to participate in the Southern France Campaign and the
6 Rhineland Campaign, being inactivated December 5, 1944, at Villeneuve-Leobet (Menton), France, without
7 losing a battle and with battle casualties equivalent to 137% of its strength; and
8 WHEREAS, the First Special Service Force members went on to serve as the 474th Infantry Regiment
9 in Norway through the end of the European Conflict as well as storied units such as the 45th Infantry Division,
10 marching onto Berlin; and
11 WHEREAS, the Camp Rimini War Dog Reception and Training Center was established in late 1942.
12 Located west of Helena at a former Civilian Conservation Corps site, where over 800 dogs and their handlers
13 trained as part of the effort to disrupt the Axis power, unit members went on to acquit themselves in places
14 along the Great Circle military air routes as search and rescue, providing specialized transport in the remote
15 areas of the Northern Hemisphere such as Newfoundland, and in Europe during winter operations providing
16 transport of war material to our American forces; and
17 WHEREAS, the Army Air Force organized and trained bomber forces throughout Montana at locations
18 such as Great Falls, Lewistown, and Cut Bank from 1941 to 1945, training personnel in the use of heavy
19 bombers, and were ultimately deployed to both the European and Pacific Theaters of war; and
20 WHEREAS, the 7th Ferrying Command, Air Transport Command, was formed at Great Falls (Gore
21 Hill), now the Great Falls International Airport, and at East Base, Montana, now Malmstrom Air Force Base, and
22 associated Army Air Corps bases to carry out the mission of providing aircraft and critical supplies to our allies
23 over the Great Circle Route, a critical part of Global War Air Operations of World War II; and
24 WHEREAS, Fort Missoula became a World War II Italian detention camp after its Army garrison
25 deployed to Alaska, housing Italian sailors who had been caught up in the war between 1942 and 1943, with
26 the result being a well-disciplined and trustworthy population, some of whom went on to emigrate to the United
27 States; and
28 WHEREAS, specialized units such as the Black, segregated 555th Parachute Battalion, known as the
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1 Triple Nickels, trained and served in Montana at Missoula fighting forest fires throughout Montana and the
2 northwest; and
3 WHEREAS, the people of Montana overwhelmingly supported World War II efforts in many ways on the
4 home front, providing food and other strategic supplies and minerals, meeting or exceeding the quotas for the
5 eight War Bond Drives; and
6 WHEREAS, Montanans supported, fought, died, and were wounded in all theaters of World War II. As
7 Joseph Howard Kinsey wrote in his text, "High, Wide, and Handsome", of the more than 15 million men and
8 women in the United States Armed Forces during "World War II, Montana furnished 75,000" to the effort.
9 "Proportionately this was near the top of all states. In World War II, as in World War I, Montanans were quick to
10 enlist and they were healthy; the proportion rejected because of physical defect was smaller than the national
11 average." Further, the "Montana death rate in World War II was only exceeded by that of New Mexico in
12 proportion to population. Montana [also] had the record of oversubscribing first in eight World War II saving
13 bond drives."
14
15 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF
16 THE STATE OF MONTANA:
17 That the Legislature does hereby recognize our Montana World War II generation, veterans, and
18 families, and all those who supported our nation's efforts to right a wrong and restore peace through strength
19 from 1940 to 1946, expending time, talent, and sacrifice to include the ultimate sacrifice in support of freedom.
20 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Legislature supports the Spirit of '45 originally declared in July
21 2010 by an act of the United States Congress, and the recognition of the year 2020 as the 75th Anniversary of
22 the end of World War II with Victory Europe occurring on May 7, 1945, and Victory Japan occurring on August
23 15, 1945, with the surrender of Japanese forces and the signing of surrender documents on September 2,
24 1945, on the USS Missouri, and ultimately World War II officially closed on December 31, 1946.
25 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this date epitomizes the establishment and sustainment of one of
26 Montana's most viable military veterans groups now identified as the Greatest Generation, and the Legislature
27 declares 2021 a special recognition of the sacrifices of Montanans in World War II.
28 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Secretary of State send a copy of this resolution to the
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1 Governor of Montana, the Department Commander of the American Legion of Montana, the State Commander,
2 the State Senior Vice Commander, the State Junior Vice Commander, and the State Adjutant/Quartermaster of
3 the Veterans of Foreign Wars of Montana, the State Commander of the Disabled American Veterans of
4 Montana, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, each of the federally recognized tribal governments in Montana,
5 and each member of the Montana Congressional Delegation.
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