IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1483 

Recognizing 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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 28, 2010 

Mr. GINGREY of Georgia (for himself and Mr. SKELTON) submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing 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. 

Whereas the 14th Armored Division was activated on November 15, 1942, at Camp Chafee, 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 deployed during World War I; 

Whereas the Division landed in southern France on October 

29, 1944, and first entered combat on November 14, 

1944; 

Whereas the Division participated in the Rhineland, 

Ardennes-Alsace, and Central European Campaigns, with 


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•HRES 1483 IH 

part of the Division also participating in the Maritime 

Alps Campaign; 

Whereas the Division participated in the liberation of the 

French province of Alsace in late November, 1944, and 

on December 13, 1944, joined the rest of the 7th Army 

in attacking the strongly fortified positions of the Siegfried Line inside Germany, and was there engaged in battle on December 19, when 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, the Division engaged several German divisions between January 1 and 

January 7, 1945, contributing materially to stopping 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 


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•HRES 1483 IH 

Volksgrenadier Division to a standstill during the ensuing 

Battle of Hatten-Rittershoffen; 

Whereas units of the Division were awarded two Presidential 

Unit Citations for their actions at Hatten and 

Rittershoffen; 

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 Stalag VII–A, the largest prisoner of war camp in Germany; 

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

the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in recognition of its liberation of approximately 250,000 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 approximately 30,000 

members of the Armed Forces of the United States and 

170,000 Allied military personnel from German prisoner 

of war camps; and 


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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 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives recog2 nizes the exemplary service and sacrifice of the soldiers 

3 of the 14th Armored Division of the United States Army, 

4 known as the Liberators, during World War II. 

Æ 


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