HLS 21RS-2155 ORIGINAL
2021 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 91
BY REPRESENTATIVE MIKE JOHNSON
MEMORIALS: Commends The Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier and the American Rose Society on leading the commemoration of the
centennial of the Unknown Soldier and encourages participation in commemorations
on Memorial Day and Veterans Day
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To commend the Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the
3 American Rose Society on leading the commemoration of the centennial of the
4 Unknown Soldier and to encourage participation in commemorations on Memorial
5 Day and Veterans Day.
6 WHEREAS, the Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has
7been preparing for the commemoration of the centennial of the Unknown Soldier for several
8years; the society recently received congressional approval to strike a centennial coin for the
9occasion, and congress also authorized the secretary of defense to take appropriate action
10in observing the centennial as a historical event; and
11 WHEREAS, the American Rose Society has joined the Society of the Honor Guard,
12Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in preparation for the centennial of the Unknown Soldier; and
13 WHEREAS, the American Rose Society is a nonprofit organization whose mission
14includes rose horticultural education, research, preservation of rose varieties, and rose
15history; the society was established in Philadelphia in 1892, and its national headquarters
16and rose gardens have been in Shreveport since the early 1970s; next year, the society will
17celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the creation of the gardens in Northwest Louisiana,
18where America's Rose Garden is open to the public and enjoyed year round by visitors from
19around the world; and
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HCR NO. 91
1 WHEREAS, across America and in France, preparations are being made to
2commemorate the centennial of the Unknown Soldier on the eleventh hour of the eleventh
3day of the eleventh month of the year; and
4 WHEREAS, the rose was designated as America's national floral emblem by the
5United States Senate and House of Representatives in an act signed by President Ronald
6Reagan in 1986; and
7 WHEREAS, the Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier made
8the white rose its official flower and encourages planting, displaying, and ceremonially
9presenting the white rose at centennial ceremonies, commemorations, and reenactments; and
10 WHEREAS, the Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the
11American Rose Society both recognize the power of roses as an effective representation of
12patriotism and all matters of the heart; and
13 WHEREAS, white roses played a prominent role in the selection of the World War
14I Unknown Soldier at Champagne-Chalon as a bouquet of white roses was laid upon the
15Unknown Soldier's casket to designate the coffin that would hold the body of America's
16Unknown Soldier; and
17 WHEREAS, France and its people remain intimately integrated in this state's history
18and culture; vestiges of the French culture are prominent and celebrated throughout the state,
19and French officials and French citizens also play an important role in preparing for the
20centennial commemorations; and
21 WHEREAS, Louisiana's native son, Four-Star General Graves Blanchard Erskine of
22Columbia, Louisiana, assisted in the return of the Unknown Soldier to American shores in
231921; he served heroically in World War I, World War II, and beyond, and after his
24illustrious active duty military career, he served the U.S. Department of Defense until his
25retirement in 1961; and
26 WHEREAS, today we have the tremendous honor of joining the centennial
27commemoration and declaring, on Memorial Day, that 2021 is the "Year of the Unknown
28Soldier"; the centennial of America's Unknown Soldier will be commemorated across the
29great state of Louisiana on Veterans' Day, November 11, 2021, at 11:00 AM, when
30Americans will pledge to recognize our sacred duty to never forget and to honor the
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HCR NO. 91
1Unknown Soldier who represents the millions of Americans who fought and died for our
2liberty and freedom; and
3 WHEREAS, this Veterans Day shall also be a day to honor and remember
4Louisiana's great hero, General Graves Blanchard Erskine, who served our nation well and
5brought immense pride to both Louisiana and the United States.
6 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
7commend the Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the American
8Rose Society on leading the commemoration of the centennial of the Unknown Soldier; does
9hereby encourage the people of Louisiana to commemorate the centennial with the National
10Salute by the firing of the twenty-one gun salute, ringing of bells, observing two minutes of
11silence, or playing taps; does hereby encourage the attendance of Veterans' Day ceremonies,
12visitation of military cemeteries and memorials, and the honoring of the American Flag; and
13does hereby call Louisianians to dedicate special places in their gardens as "never forget"
14gardens, which will serve as living tributes to all of America's veterans and their families.
15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
16Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and to the American Rose
17Society.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 91 Original 2021 Regular Session Mike Johnson
Commends the Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the
American Rose Society on leading the commemoration of the centennial of the Unknown
Soldier and encourages participation in commemorations on Memorial Day and Veterans
Day.
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