SR7: Resolution Text

LRB-1476/3

PJD:wlj:rs

2005 - 2006 LEGISLATURE

2005 Senate RESOLUTION 7

May 3, 2005 - Introduced by Senators Wirch, Breske, Erpenbach, Lassa and Zien.

SR7,1,3 Relating to: urging the House Armed Services Committee as well as the entire United States Congress to adopt H.R. 605, awarding a Medal of Honor posthumously to First Lieutenant Garlin Murl Conner.

SR7,1,5 Whereas, Lieutenant Garlin Murl Conner is a decorated war hero, who served on the front lines for over 800 days in 8 major campaigns; and

SR7,1,7 Whereas, Lieutenant Conner was wounded 7 times but returned to combat and continued to fight on the front lines after each wound; and

SR7,1,9 Whereas, during World War II, over 40 3rd Infantry Division soldiers received Medals of Honor, more than any other division; and

SR7,1,11 Whereas, Lieutenant Garlin Murl Conner was not awarded the Medal of Honor due to an oversight and failure to process the paperwork; and

SR7,1,15 Whereas, Lieutenant Conner served in the 3rd Infantry Division and was awarded Silver Stars for acts of valor, awarded many honors including the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star with 3 oak leaf clusters, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart with 6 oak leaf clusters, and other medals; and

SR7,2,5 Whereas, on June 20, 1945, Lieutenant Conner was awarded the Croix de Guerre, the French medal of honor, that was also awarded to Sergeant Alvin C. York, America's most decorated World War I soldier, who was a friend of Lieutenant Conner and lived a few miles from Lieutenant Conner's home on the Kentucky-Tennessee border; and

SR7,2,9 Whereas, Major General Lloyd B. Ramsey (Ret.), who was Lieutenant Conner's battalion commander during combat in World War II, is still living and has signed the necessary documents for awarding the Medal of Honor to Lieutenant Conner; and

SR7,2,12 Whereas, in 1945, Major General Ramsey wrote that Lieutenant Conner was "one of the outstanding soldiers of this war, if not the outstanding.... I've never seen a man with as much courage and ability as he has"; and

SR7,2,16 Whereas, 7 former generals, including General William Ramsey, General William Seitz, General Edward Flanagan, General James Johnson, General William Rosson, General Gerald H. Bethke, and General Edward Thomas, support the efforts to award Lieutenant Conner the Medal of Honor; and

SR7,2,24 Whereas, Stephen Ambrose, America's foremost World War II historian, founder of the D-Day Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, and author of many books, wrote on November 11, 2000, "I am in complete support of the effort to make Lieutenant Garlin M. Conner a Medal of Honor recipient. What Lieutenant Conner did in stopping the German assault near Houssen, France, in January 1945 was far above the call of duty. I've met and talked at length with many Medal of Honor recipients and am sure they would all agree that Lieutenant Conner more than deserves the honor of joining them"; and

SR7,3,4 Whereas, on April 3, 2001, 3rd Infantry Division leaders named the new Eagle Base in Bosnia-Herzegovina after Lieutenant Conner because of his gallantry in World War II and because, "It's a company-grade forward operating base named after a soldier with a company-grade rank"; and

SR7,3,8 Whereas, Richard Chilton, a former Green Beret from Genoa City, Wisconsin, has been on a mission since 1996 to have the Medal of Honor awarded to Lieutenant Conner, and his research has documented that Lieutenant Conner is one of the great combat heroes of World War II; and

SR7,3,17 Whereas, Chilton has made presentations to dozens of schools about Lieutenant Conner's war record and has copies of over 2,500 letters written by students from the Kenosha Military Academy, Burlington Catholic Central High School, Wilmot Union High School, East Troy High School, Williams Bay High School, Lake Geneva Badger High School, Union Grove High School, Elkhorn High School, Whitewater Middle School, Brookwood Middle School, Wheatland Middle School, Randall Middle School, Bristol Elementary School, Trevor Grade School, Reek Elementary School, and Brighton Elementary School to President George W. Bush requesting the Medal of Honor be awarded to Lieutenant Conner; and

SR7,3,21 Whereas, after reviewing Chilton's information, a host of former war veterans have written Congress requesting passage of H.R. 605 to award the Medal of Honor to one of America's greatest citizen soldiers, Lieutenant Garlin Murl Conner; now, therefore, be it

SR7,3,25 Resolved, That the members of the Wisconsin legislature urge the House Armed Services Committee as well as the entire United States Congress to adopt H.R. 605, awarding a Medal of Honor posthumously to First Lieutenant Garlin Murl Conner, and, be it further

SR7,4,4 Resolved, That the senate chief clerk shall transmit a copy of this resolution to the members of the Congressional delegation from this state, the clerk of the house of representatives of the United States, and the clerk of the senate of the United States.

SR7,4,5 (End)