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[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 745 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 745

  Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armistice Agreement, the 
 100th anniversary of the return of the Unknown Soldier, and the 100th 
            anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 2, 2019

 Mr. Cotton submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
  Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armistice Agreement, the 
 100th anniversary of the return of the Unknown Soldier, and the 100th 
            anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Whereas, on April 2, 1917, President Thomas Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to 
        convene an extraordinary session to officially declare war on the 
        Imperial German Government;
Whereas, on April 4, 1917, the Senate passed a joint resolution that declared a 
        formal state of war between the United States and the Imperial German 
        Government;
Whereas, on April 6, 1917, the House of Representatives adopted the same joint 
        resolution that the Senate had passed, thereby marking the official 
        entry of the United States into World War I;
Whereas more than four million American men and women served in uniform during 
        World War I;
Whereas 116,516 Americans died from combat and disease and another 200,000 were 
        wounded;
Whereas the Armistice Agreement to end World War I was signed in Paris, France, 
        on November 11, 1918, at 11 a.m.;
Whereas, on February 4, 1921, Congress approved the burial of an unidentified 
        American soldier from World War I in the plaza of the new Memorial 
        Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery;
Whereas, on Memorial Day 1921, four unknown soldiers were exhumed from four 
        World War I American cemeteries in France and United States Army 
        Sergeant Edward F. Younger, who was wounded in combat, highly decorated 
        for valor, and received the Distinguished Service Medal in ``The Great 
        War, the war to end all wars'', selected the Unknown Soldier of World 
        War I from four identical caskets at the city hall in Chalons-sur-Marne, 
        France, on October 24, 1921, by placing a spray of white roses on the 
        third casket from the left;
Whereas, on October 25, 1921, the casket bearing the unknown soldier was placed 
        on the USS Olympia for transport back to the United States and the 
        French Minister of Pensions presented the Ordre National de la Legion 
        d'Honneur, that country's highest military award, to the Unknown 
        Soldier;
Whereas the USS Olympia reached the mouth of the Potomac on November 7, 1921, 
        and on November 9, 1921, joined by the USS North Dakota (BB-29) and the 
        USS Bernadou (DD-153), she stood up the channel to the Nation's Capital, 
        exchanging salutes from Fort Washington and Mount Vernon during her 
        passage;
Whereas the USS Olympia moored at the Washington Navy Yard on November 9, 1921, 
        and was welcomed by District of Columbia Brigadier General Harry H. 
        Bandholtz, USA, who commanded the Military District of Washington, and 
        who led a welcoming entourage that included Secretary of War John W. 
        Weeks, Secretary of the Navy Edwin Denby, General of the Armies John J. 
        Pershing, USA, Admiral Robert E. Coontz, CNO, and Major General John A. 
        Lejeune, USMC, Commandant of the Marine Corps;
Whereas the USS Olympia fired a 21-gun salute, buglers on board sounded 
        attention, and the boatswain piped the Unknown Soldier over the side, 
        the ship's band playing the ``Funeral March'', followed by the national 
        anthem;
Whereas the 3rd Cavalry Regiment's band played ``Onward Christian Soldiers'' as 
        the procession, escorted by cavalry troopers, made its way toward the 
        United States Capitol and additional ceremonies, culminating in 
        interring the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery on November 
        11, 1921; and
Whereas, since 1948, soldiers from the 3rd United States Infantry Regiment 
        headquartered at Fort Myer, Virginia, have stood guard at the Tomb of 
        the Unknown Soldier: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the 100th anniversary of the signing of the 
        Armistice Treaty;
            (2) expresses gratitude and appreciation to the members of 
        the Armed Forces who participated in World War I operations;
            (3) honors the memory of the fallen heroes who wore the 
        uniforms of the Armed Forces during World War I;
            (4) commends the crew of the USS Olympia for their role in 
        transporting the unknown soldier home to the United States; and
            (5) commends the soldiers from the 3rd United States 
        Infantry Regiment for standing guard at the Tomb of the Unknown 
        Soldier every day for 70 years, regardless of weather 
        conditions be they rain, sleet, or snow.
                                 <all>
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