Full Text of HR0950 100th General Assembly
HR0950 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The Korean War began on June 25, 1950 and raged | 3 | | for three bloody years; 1.5 million
United States soldiers, | 4 | | including thousands from the State of Illinois, answered the | 5 | | call to arms
during the war; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The President of the United States may present | 7 | | Congressional Gold Medals to Korean War veterans in
recognition | 8 | | of their contributions while serving under the United Nations; | 9 | | and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, The purpose of the medals are to express | 11 | | recognition of the exemplary contributions
made by Korean War | 12 | | veterans, both U.S. and Allied Forces, who
demonstrated | 13 | | selfless acts during the conflict; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, The Empire of Japan occupied the entire country of | 15 | | Korea from 1910 until the end of
World War II; prior to the | 16 | | official Japanese surrender on August 15, 1945, the
U.S. and | 17 | | its allies prepared an arrangement to divide Korea horizontally | 18 | | into two regions, North and
South; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, On June 25, 1950, the North Korea Peoples' Army | 20 | | and their allies invaded South
Korea; the U.N. Security Council | 21 | | adopted a resolution to send U.N. Forces into Korea; on June |
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| 1 | | 27, 1950, President Truman sent U.S. troops as aid under the | 2 | | aegis of the United
Nations; in October 1950, the Peoples | 3 | | Volunteer Army of China entered the conflict by
encroaching | 4 | | into North Korea; in response, China's ruling party ordered the
| 5 | | immediate destruction of the entire 1st Marine Division, the | 6 | | Republic of Korea Army Divisions,
and the U.S. Army's 7th | 7 | | Infantry Division, which led to the struggle to defend the | 8 | | Pusan Perimeter; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, A series of battles against the Chinese forces | 10 | | took place throughout autumn 1950,
including the Battle of | 11 | | Inchon, the Battle of Naktong breakout, the Battle of | 12 | | Seoul-Second, and
the Battle of Changjin Reservoir, which | 13 | | tested the capacity of U.S. forces against both the enemy and
| 14 | | the elements; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, On November 25, 1950, Chinese communist forces | 16 | | launched an all-out assault,
swiftly overtaking the U.N. forces | 17 | | and forcing U.S. and U.N. troops to withdraw south; battles | 18 | | against the communist forces continued throughout 1951, | 19 | | including the Battle of
Seoul-Fourth, by far the largest | 20 | | artillery operation of the Korean conflict; during this time, | 21 | | U.N. allied forces from countries such as Australia, the U.K., | 22 | | and the
Philippines assisted in combatting the Chinese | 23 | | communist forces; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, By 1953, at least another dozen battles took place | 2 | | in an attempt to retake South Korea; the ground
action was led | 3 | | by U.S. and U.N. forces; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, On July 27, 1953, the United States, North Korea, | 5 | | and China signed an armistice
agreement that ended the conflict | 6 | | and created the demilitarized zone (DMZ), again dividing Korea
| 7 | | but failing to bring about peace; to date, the Republic of | 8 | | Korea (South Korea)
and the Democratic Peoples' Republic of | 9 | | Korea (North Korea) have not signed a peace treaty that
would | 10 | | officially end the war; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, One of two principle objectives was to not lose | 12 | | the war to the aggressors and the
other was to keep Seoul, | 13 | | South Korea from occupation by the Democratic Peoples' Republic | 14 | | of
Korea to the north; American combat troops and allied forces | 15 | | from 16 nations helped secure
this mission; today, Seoul's | 16 | | vibrancy is possible because of those who served and | 17 | | sacrificed; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, It is the appropriate time for America to honor | 19 | | the troops, including all United
Nations allied forces during | 20 | | the Korean conflict, and to
award them the Congressional Gold | 21 | | Medal; it is appropriate that these medals stand as evidence | 22 | | that
The Forgotten War is no longer forgotten, but forever | 23 | | remembered; therefore, be it
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 2 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 3 | | encourage Congress to authorize the President to present | 4 | | Congressional Gold Medals to Korean War Veterans in
recognition | 5 | | of their service and sacrifice; and be it further | 6 | | RESOLVED, That following the awarding of the medals, we | 7 | | urge that one Congressional Gold Medal be given to the | 8 | | Smithsonian Institution and one Congressional Silver Medal be | 9 | | given to the War
Memorial of Korea, Seoul, where it shall be | 10 | | available for display as appropriate and made
available for | 11 | | research; and be it further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That we recognize and honor the
service and | 13 | | sacrifice of Korean War veterans, the brave men and women who
| 14 | | served honorably and those who paid the ultimate price | 15 | | defending our freedom; and be it further
| 16 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 17 | | delivered to President Donald Trump, U.S. Senate Majority | 18 | | Leader Mitch McConnell, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck | 19 | | Schumer, U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, U.S. House of | 20 | | Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and all members | 21 | | of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.
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