H. Res. 1483 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

July 20, 2010. 

Whereas the 14th Armored Division was activated on November 15, 1942, at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas, as a unit of 

the United States Army; 

Whereas the Division’s 19th, 62d, and 68th Armored Infantry Battalions traced their lineage back to the 62d Infantry Regiment, which was organized in 1917; 

Whereas the Division landed in southern France on October 

29, 1944, and first entered combat on November 20, 

1944; 

Whereas the Division participated in the Rhineland, 

Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe campaigns; 

Whereas the Division participated in the liberation of most of 

the French province of Alsace in late November, 1944, 

and was engaged in an offensive against the Siegfried 

Line itself when, on December 19, General Dwight D. 

Eisenhower ordered the 7th Army to withdraw from Germany in response to the serious threat posed by a major 

German offensive in the Ardennes; 

Whereas when the German army launched Operation 

Nordwind, the last major German offensive of the European war, against 7th Army positions, elements of the 

Division engaged several German divisions between Janu-
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ary 1 and January 7, 1945, contributing materially to 

deflecting the initial German attacks; 

Whereas it was during one of these engagements on January 

3 and 4, 1945, that the Division’s Private First Class 

George B. Turner earned the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in helping to repel repeated German attacks 

at Philippsbourg, France; 

Whereas, on January 9, 1945, the Division stopped the German XXXIX Panzer Corps from breaking through the 

7th Army’s lines at the villages of Hatten and 

Rittershoffen; 

Whereas, between January 9 and January 21, 1945, the Division fought the 21st Panzer Division, 25th Panzer 

Grenadier Division, 20th Regiment of the 7th Parachute 

Division, and the 104th Regiment of the 47th 

Volksgrenadier Division to a standstill during the ensuing 

Battle of Hatten-Rittershoffen; 

Whereas elements of the Division were awarded two Presidential Unit Citations; 

Whereas, on March 24, 1945, after days of heavy fighting, 

the Division broke through the Siegfried Line and advanced to the Rhine River; 

Whereas, after crossing the Rhine River, the Division liberated Stalag XIII–C and Oflag XIII–B, two large prisoner 

of war camps at Hammelburg, Germany; 

Whereas, during April 1945, the Division rapidly advanced 

hundreds of miles across southern Germany, fighting numerous battles before crossing the Danube River north of 

Munich; 

Whereas, on April 29, 1945, the Division, after a fierce engagement with several thousand SS troops, liberated Sta-
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lag VII–A, one of the largest prisoner of war camps in 

Germany; 

Whereas the Division is designated a ‘‘Liberating Unit’’ by 

the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in recognition of its liberation of civilians of many nationalities 

and ethnicities from forced labor and concentration 

camps, including several large sub-camps of the notorious 

Dachau concentration camp system; 

Whereas the Secretary of the Army awarded the Division the 

distinctive unit designation, ‘‘Liberators’’, in recognition 

of the Division’s role in liberating large numbers of US 

and Allied prisoners of war; and 

Whereas the proud fighting tradition and accomplishments of 

the Division and its men, especially those who made the 

ultimate sacrifice, must not be forgotten: Now, therefore, 

be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives recognizes 

the exemplary service and sacrifice of the soldiers of the 14th 

Armored Division of the United States Army, known as the 

Liberators, during World War II. 

Attest: 

Clerk.