ENROLLED
2021 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 91
BY REPRESENTATIVE MIKE JOHNSON AND SENATORS BERNARD, LUNEAU,
MORRIS, PEACOCK, AND WOMACK
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To commend 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 to encourage participation in commemorations on Memorial
Day and Veterans Day.
WHEREAS, the Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has
been preparing for the commemoration of the centennial of the Unknown Soldier for several
years; the society recently received congressional approval to strike a centennial coin for the
occasion, and congress also authorized the secretary of defense to take appropriate action
in observing the centennial as a historical event; and
WHEREAS, the American Rose Society has joined the Society of the Honor Guard,
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in preparation for the centennial of the Unknown Soldier; and
WHEREAS, the American Rose Society is a nonprofit organization whose mission
includes rose horticultural education, research, preservation of rose varieties, and rose
history; the society was established in Philadelphia in 1892, and its national headquarters
and rose gardens have been in Shreveport since the early 1970s; next year, the society will
celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the creation of the gardens in Northwest Louisiana,
where America's Rose Garden is open to the public and enjoyed year round by visitors from
around the world; and
WHEREAS, across America and in France, preparations are being made to
commemorate the centennial of the Unknown Soldier on the eleventh hour of the eleventh
day of the eleventh month of the year; and
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WHEREAS, the rose was designated as America's national floral emblem by the
United States Senate and House of Representatives in an act signed by President Ronald
Reagan in 1986; and
WHEREAS, the Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier made
the white rose its official flower and encourages planting, displaying, and ceremonially
presenting the white rose at centennial ceremonies, commemorations, and reenactments; and
WHEREAS, the Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the
American Rose Society both recognize the power of roses as an effective representation of
patriotism and all matters of the heart; and
WHEREAS, white roses played a prominent role in the selection of the World War
I Unknown Soldier at Champagne-Chalon as a bouquet of white roses was laid upon the
Unknown Soldier's casket to designate the coffin that would hold the body of America's
Unknown Soldier; and
WHEREAS, France and its people remain intimately integrated in this state's history
and culture; vestiges of the French culture are prominent and celebrated throughout the state,
and French officials and French citizens also play an important role in preparing for the
centennial commemorations; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana's native son, Four-Star General Graves Blanchard Erskine of
Columbia, Louisiana, assisted in the return of the Unknown Soldier to American shores in
1921; he served heroically in World War I, World War II, and beyond, and after his
illustrious active duty military career, he served the U.S. Department of Defense until his
retirement in 1961; and
WHEREAS, today we have the tremendous honor of joining the centennial
commemoration and declaring, on Memorial Day, that 2021 is the "Year of the Unknown
Soldier"; the centennial of America's Unknown Soldier will be commemorated across the
great state of Louisiana on Veterans' Day, November 11, 2021, at 11:00 AM, when
Americans will pledge to recognize our sacred duty to never forget and to honor the
Unknown Soldier who represents the millions of Americans who fought and died for our
liberty and freedom; and
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WHEREAS, this Veterans Day shall also be a day to honor and remember
Louisiana's great hero, General Graves Blanchard Erskine, who served our nation well and
brought immense pride to both Louisiana and the United States.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
commend 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; does
hereby encourage the people of Louisiana to commemorate the centennial with the National
Salute by the firing of the twenty-one gun salute, ringing of bells, observing two minutes of
silence, or playing taps; does hereby encourage the attendance of Veterans' Day ceremonies,
visitation of military cemeteries and memorials, and the honoring of the American Flag; and
does hereby call Louisianians to dedicate special places in their gardens as "never forget"
gardens, which will serve as living tributes to all of America's veterans and their families.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and to the American Rose
Society.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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