2007 Senate Joint Resolution 87
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: the life and public service of John R. Moses.
Whereas, John R. Moses, who after 21 years became the longest serving secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, passed away on Saturday, December 8, 2007, at the age of 88 in Madison, Wisconsin; and
Whereas, John R. Moses entered military service in September 1941 and served 14 months in an anti-aircraft unit at Dutch Harbor, Aleutian Islands, during which time it came under Japanese air carrier attack; and
Whereas, in 1943, John R. Moses graduated from Armored Force Officer Candidate School at Fort Knox, Kentucky, was later assigned to the 10th Armored Division, and ordered overseas in August 1944; and
Whereas, John R. Moses participated in the attack of German forts at Metz, France, led the point platoon in General Patton's drive across Moselle River to Siegfried Line, was severely wounded in combat on the German border, and was subsequently hospitalized for 13 months; and
Whereas, John R. Moses retired as a first lieutenant on permanent disability in December 1945; and
Whereas, John R. Moses was educated at the University of North Dakota and George Washington University and graduated from the University of Wisconsin School of Law in 1951; and he practiced law for ten years in Madison and Gays Mills; and
Whereas, John R. Moses was active in the Gays Mills community serving as a senior Boy Scout leader, a member of the board of trustees of Our Savior's Lutheran Church, master of the Masonic Lodge, and as president of the Gays Mills School Board for ten years, taking pride in increasing the size of the school district, broadening the curriculum, and improving school facilities; and
Whereas, John R. Moses was appointed by Governor Gaylord Nelson as director and then secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, serving from November 1961 to October 1982, a tenure far longer than any of his predecessors or successors; and
Whereas, John R. Moses greatly expanded state programs of assistance to veterans, including the part-time study grant program to enhance veterans' job skills, and created a new veterans home loan program and the only statewide outreach program in the nation to find and assist returning Vietnam War veterans; and
Whereas, John R. Moses directed the conversion of the Wisconsin Veterans Home from an old soldiers' home to one of the largest skilled nursing care facilities for veterans in the nation; and
Whereas, John R. Moses improved and expanded the exhibits at the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Memorial Hall in the state capitol in the 1960s, a veterans museum dedicated to Civil War memorabilia that eventually was transformed into the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, considered to be the finest state veterans museum in the United States; and
Whereas, John R. Moses served as chairman of the Governor's Educational Advisory Committee and secretary of the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs; and
Whereas, John R. Moses was a member of Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Retired Officers Association, Wisconsin Association of Concerned Veterans Organizations, 206th CA (AA) Association, and the 10th Armored Division Veterans Association; and
Whereas, John R. Moses was always very proud of the many friendships and relationships he developed over the years, and countless people whose lives he touched took pride in calling him their friend, including so very many veterans whose service and sacrifice spanned generations; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin legislature commend and honor John R. Moses for his decades of public service, his distinguished leadership and extraordinary vision while becoming the longest serving secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Wisconsin history and his amazing grace and inspirational ways; express their deep sorrow at his death; and extend their sincere condolences to his widow, Mildred Jaynes Moses, family, and friends; and, be it further
Resolved, That the senate chief clerk shall provide a copy of this joint resolution to John R. Moses' widow, Mildred Jaynes Moses, for herself, and so she may share it with his children, stepchildren, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren and all of his other family members and friends.
