IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 230 
Recognizing the 150th anniversary of the Colorado National Guard. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 26, 2010 
Mr. COFFMAN of Colorado (for himself, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. CONAWAY, and 
Mr. SNYDER) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Armed Services 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the 150th anniversary of the Colorado National 
Guard. 
Whereas the Colorado National Guard has over 5,500 men 
and women across the State in more than 40 units; 
Whereas the history of the Colorado National Guard begins 
on January 23, 1860, when the 1st General Assembly of 
the Jefferson Territory authorized the formation of two 
military companies, the ‘‘Jefferson Rangers’’ and the 
‘‘Denver Guards’’; 
Whereas these units were later disbanded and the Colorado 
Volunteers stood up as the official Territorial Militia; 
Whereas, on February 26, 1861, Colorado became a territory 
of the Union; 
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•HCON 230 IH 
Whereas William Gilpin, the first Governor, organized the 
‘‘Colorado Volunteers’’ for the defense of the territory 
and to oppose the invasion of Confederate forces during 
the Civil War; 
Whereas Colorado became a State in 1876; 
Whereas the Colorado National Guard mobilized for the 
Spanish-American War and on June 14, 1898, sailed for 
the Philippines; 
Whereas Colorado units participated in numerous battles and 
were the first to enter and eventually capture the city of 
Manila; 
Whereas during this campaign, the Colorado National 
Guard’s only Medal of Honor recipient, Lt. Col. William 
R. Grove earned the military’s highest honor for valiant 
action against the enemy; 
Whereas in June 1916, the Colorado National Guard mobi-
lized for service on the Mexican border; 
Whereas they were stationed on the border of Arizona, pro-
tecting the area from Pancho Villa and his army until re-
turning home in February 1917; 
Whereas war was declared against Germany on April 6, 
1917, and by the beginning of August nearly all units of 
the Colorado National Guard were mobilized for service 
in France; 
Whereas Colorado’s combat arms units provided replacements 
on the front lines as well as crucial artillery support in 
most of the major campaigns near the end of the war, 
including the Meuse Argonne campaign; 
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•HCON 230 IH 
Whereas during World War II, Colorado National Guard 
units served with pride in both European and Pacific the-
atres; 
Whereas Colorado provided a significant contribution to the 
invasion of Italy and southern France, eventually liber-
ating the notorious Dachau labor camp on April 29, 
1945, after 511 days in a combat zone and 4 beach land-
ings as part of the 45th Infantry Division; 
Whereas the majority of Colorado’s artillery units served in 
the Philippine Islands for two years during World War 
II; 
Whereas following the war in June 1946, the Colorado Air 
National Guard was formed as a separate arm of the 
State’s National Guard one year prior to the establish-
ment of the U.S. Air Force in late 1947; 
Whereas in 1956, the 120th Tactical Fighter Squadron orga-
nized an aerial demonstration team called the ‘‘Minute-
men’’ making it the first and only Air National Guard 
precision aerial demonstration team; 
Whereas at the height of its popularity, the ‘‘Minutemen’’ 
performed in more than 100 air shows for more than 
3,000,000 people in 47 States and 5 foreign countries be-
fore being replaced by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds; 
Whereas elements of the Colorado National Guard were re-
called for Federal service in 1950 for the Korean Con-
flict, in 1961 during the Berlin Crisis, the 1962 Cuban 
Missile Crisis, and in 1968 in support of forces serving 
in Vietnam; 
Whereas after the Cold War, the Colorado National Guard 
mobilized for Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1990– 
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