IV
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 119
Expressing the sense of the Congress that a commemorative postage stamp
should be issued in honor of the U.S.S. New Jersey and all those
who served aboard her.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 26, 1999
Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. SMITH of New
Jersey, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. PAYNE,
Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. ANDREWS, and Mrs.
ROUKEMA) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Government Reform
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress that a commemorative
postage stamp should be issued in honor of the U.S.S.
New Jersey and all those who served aboard her.
Whereas the Iowa Class Battleship, the U.S.S. New Jersey
(BB–62), is the most decorated warship in United States
naval history, with 16 battle stars and 20 citations, med-
als, and ribbons during her 56 years of service;
Whereas the U.S.S. New Jersey was launched on December
7, 1942, by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard; sponsored
by Mrs. Charles Edison, wife of then-Governor Edison of
New Jersey, former Secretary of the Navy; and commis-
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sioned at Philadelphia on May 23, 1943, Captain Carl F.
Holden in command;
Whereas her first action as a flagship for Admiral William
‘‘Bull’’ Halsey’s Third Fleet was a bold 2-day surface
and air strike by her task force against the supposedly
impregnable Japanese fleet base on Truk in the Caroline
Islands, thereby interdicting Japanese naval retaliation in
response to the conquest of the Marshall Islands;
Whereas the U.S.S. New Jersey provided crucial firepower
for the assault on Iwo Jima;
Whereas the U.S.S. New Jersey gave the same crucial service
for the first major aircraft carrier raid on Tokyo;
Whereas the U.S.S. New Jersey’s guns opened the first shore
bombardment in Korea at Wonsan, and served with dis-
tinction throughout the remainder of the Korean conflict;
Whereas the U.S.S. New Jersey participated in bombardment
and fire support missions along the Vietnamese coast
during the Vietnam era;
Whereas the U.S.S. New Jersey earned the Navy Unit Com-
mendation for Vietnam service, received 9 battle stars for
World War II, 4 for the Korean conflict, and 3 for the
Vietnam era;
Whereas the U.S.S. New Jersey supported the Marine oper-
ation with the Multinational Peacekeeping Force in Bei-
rut, Lebanon;
Whereas, in 1991, the U.S.S. New Jersey became the first
United States battleship to enter and operate in the Per-
sian Gulf; and
Whereas the U.S.S. New Jersey, after being decommissioned
on February 8, 1991, and due in no small part to the
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efforts of the U.S.S. New Jersey Battleship Foundation,
will be heading home in the fall of 1999 to become a
floating monument and an educational museum: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—
(1) a commemorative postage stamp should be
issued by the United States Postal Service in honor
of the U.S.S. New Jersey and all those who served
aboard her; and
(2) the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee
should recommend to the Postmaster General that
such a postage stamp be issued.
Æ