2005 -- S 1146

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LC03354

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2005

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S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N

MEMORIALIZING CONGRESS TO AWARD THE MEDAL OF HONOR POSTHUMOUSLY

TO FIRST LIEUTENANT GARLIN MURL CONNER

     Introduced By: Senators Algiere, and Felag

     Date Introduced: June 01, 2005

     Referred To: Senate read and passed

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     WHEREAS, Lieutenant Garlin Murl Conner is a decorated war hero, who served on the

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front lines for over eight hundred days in eight major campaigns; and

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     WHEREAS, Lieutenant Conner was wounded seven times but returned to combat and

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continued to fight on the front lines after each wound; and

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     WHEREAS, During World War II, over forty soldiers in the 3rd Infantry Division

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received Medals of Honor, more than any other division; and

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     WHEREAS, Lieutenant Garlin Murl Conner was not awarded the Medal of Honor due to

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an oversight and failure to process the paperwork; and

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     WHEREAS, Lieutenant Conner served in the 3rd Infantry Division and was awarded

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Silver Stars for acts of valor, awarded many honors including the Distinguished Service Cross,

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the Silver Star with three oak leaf clusters, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart with six oak leaf

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clusters, and other medals; and

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     WHEREAS, On June 20, 1945, Lieutenant Conner was awarded the Croix de Guerre, the

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French Medal of Honor, that was also awarded to Sergeant Alvin C. York, America's most

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decorated World War I soldier, who was a friend of Lieutenant Conner and lived a few miles

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from Lieutenant Conner's home on the Kentucky-Tennessee border; and

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     WHEREAS, Major General Lloyd B. Ramsay, who was Lieutenant Conner's battalion

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commander during combat in World War II, is still living and has signed the necessary

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documents for awarding the Medal of Honor to Lieutenant Conner; and

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     WHEREAS, In 1945, Major General Ramsay wrote that Lieutenant Conner was "one of

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the outstanding soldiers of this war, if not the outstanding…I've never seen a man with as much

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courage and ability as he has"; and

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     WHEREAS, Seven former generals, including General Ramsay, General William Seitz,

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General Edward Flanagan, General James Johnson, General William Rosson, General Gerald H.

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Bethke, and General Edward Thomas, support the efforts to award Lieutenant Conner the Medal

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of Honor; and

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     WHEREAS, Stephen Ambrose, America's foremost World War II historian, founder of

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the D-Day Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, and author of many books wrote on November

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11, 2000, "I am in complete support of the effort to make Lieutenant Garlin M. Conner a Medal

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of Honor recipient. What Lieutenant Conner did in stopping the German assault near Houssen,

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France in January 1945 was far above the call of duty…"; and

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     WHEREAS, On April 3, 2001, 3rd Infantry Division leaders named the new Eagle Base in

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Bosnia-Herzegovina after Lieutenant Conner because of his gallantry in World War II and

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because, "It's a company-grade operating base named after a soldier with a company-grade rank";

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and

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     WHEREAS, Richard Chilton, a former Green Beret from Genoa City, Wisconsin, has

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been on a mission since 1996 to have the Medal of Honor awarded to Lieutenant Conner, and his

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research has documented that Lieutenant Conner is one of the great combat heroes of World War

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II; and

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     WHEREAS, Chilton has made presentations to dozens of schools about Lieutenant

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Conner's war record and has copies of over twenty-five hundred letters written by students from

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Kenosha Military Academy, Burlington Catholic Central High School, Wilmot Union High

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School, East Troy High School, Williams Bay High School, Lake Geneva Badger High School,

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Union Grove High School, Elkhorn High School, Randall Middle School, Bristol Elementary

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School, Trevor Grade School, Reek Elementary School, and Brighton Elementary School to

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George W. Bush requesting the Medal of Honor be awarded to Lieutenant Conner; and

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     WHEREAS, After receiving Chilton's information, a host of former war veterans have

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written Congress requesting passage of House Resolution 605 to award the Medal of Honor to

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one of America's greatest citizen soldiers, Lieutenant Garlin Murl Conner; now, therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

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hereby urges the House Armed Services Committee as well as the entire United States Congress

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to adopt House Resolution 605, awarding a Medal of Honor posthumously to First Lieutenant

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Garlin Murl Conner; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation and

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the family of Lieutenant Garlin Murl Conner.

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LC03354

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