Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HR142 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	IV
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. RES. 142
5	5	Recognizing the 80th anniversary of the amphibious landing on the Japanese
6	6	island of Iwo Jima during World War II and the raisings of the flag
7	7	of the United States on Mount Suribachi.
8	8	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
9	9	FEBRUARY18, 2025
10	10	Mr. C
11	11	ALVERT(for himself, Mr. CARBAJAL, and Mr. ISSA) submitted the fol-
12	12	lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Serv-
13	13	ices, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period
14	14	to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
15	15	ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
16	16	concerned
17	17	RESOLUTION
18	18	Recognizing the 80th anniversary of the amphibious landing
19	19	on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima during World War
20	20	II and the raisings of the flag of the United States
21	21	on Mount Suribachi.
22	22	Whereas, following the surprise attack by Japanese forces on
23	23	December 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the United
24	24	States formally declared war on the Imperial Government
25	25	of Japan on December 8, 1941;
26	26	Whereas, during the 4 years that followed the attack, the
27	27	United States and allied forces fought a prolonged coun-
28	28	terattack against Japanese advances across the Pacific
29	29	region;
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32	32	•HRES 142 IH
33	33	Whereas the tactic of attacking, defeating, and controlling
34	34	Japanese-held outposts using amphibious assault land-
35	35	ings against Japanese-held islands and territories (re-
36	36	ferred to in this preamble as ‘‘island hopping’’) became
37	37	crucial to successfully countering Japanese advances
38	38	throughout the Pacific region;
39	39	Whereas the goal of island hopping was to secure airfields
40	40	and supply bases—
41	41	(1) in order to launch aerial bombardment attacks
42	42	against the mainland of Japan using the new Boeing B–
43	43	29 Superfortress; and
44	44	(2) in preparation for, and in anticipation of, a
45	45	United States invasion of Japan;
46	46	Whereas, by early 1945, the United States and allied forces
47	47	bravely fought and advanced to the island of Iwo Jima,
48	48	an 8-square-mile volcanic island with 3 strategic airfields,
49	49	located between the Mariana Islands and Japan;
50	50	Whereas Iwo Jima was—
51	51	(1) a strategic island with airfields to support bomb-
52	52	ers of the United States with fighter escorts; and
53	53	(2) an essential base for emergency, refueling, and
54	54	diversionary landings for B–29 bombers;
55	55	Whereas, under the command of Japanese Lieutenant Gen-
56	56	eral Tadamichi Kuribayashi, Iwo Jima was a heavily for-
57	57	tified island with nearly 11 miles of underground and
58	58	networked tunnels, rooms, bunkers, artillery emplace-
59	59	ments, ammunition dumps, and pillboxes supporting
60	60	more than 21,000 Japanese soldiers;
61	61	Whereas, on February 19, 1945, under the leadership of
62	62	United States Navy 5th Fleet Admiral Raymond A.
63	63	Spruance, United States Marine Corps V Amphibious
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66	66	•HRES 142 IH
67	67	Corps Major General Harry Schmidt, 3d Division Major
68	68	General Graves B. Erskine, 4th Division Major General
69	69	Clifton Cates, and 5th Division Major General Keller E.
70	70	Rockey, the United States launched an amphibious land-
71	71	ing and assault on Iwo Jima that culminated with the en-
72	72	gagement of more than 70,000 members of the United
73	73	States Marine Corps, buttressed by thousands of mem-
74	74	bers of the United States Navy and the United States
75	75	Army serving as assault, garrison, and support forces
76	76	(referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘Battle of Iwo
77	77	Jima’’);
78	78	Whereas the members of the United States Marine Corps
79	79	who fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima overcame numerous
80	80	disadvantages in the 36-day battle that included treach-
81	81	erous terrain, unfavorable weather conditions, and heavy
82	82	enemy fire from an embedded, determined, and fierce
83	83	Japanese fighting force in places immortalized by mem-
84	84	bers of the United States Marine Corps, including the
85	85	‘‘Meat Grinder’’ and ‘‘Bloody Gorge’’;
86	86	Whereas, on February 23, 1945, only 5 days into the Battle
87	87	of Iwo Jima, members of the United States Marine Corps
88	88	ascended the highest point on the island, Mount
89	89	Suribachi, and raised the flag of the United States 2
90	90	times, the second of which resulted in the iconic, Pulitzer
91	91	Prize-winning image that—
92	92	(1) was captured on film by photographer Joe
93	93	Rosenthal;
94	94	(2) has become a recognized symbol of determina-
95	95	tion, perseverance, and struggle; and
96	96	(3) has been memorialized as the United States Ma-
97	97	rine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia;
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100	100	•HRES 142 IH
101	101	Whereas the Battle of Iwo Jima, one of the bloodiest battles
102	102	in the history of the United States Marine Corps, re-
103	103	sulted in more than 26,000 casualties of the United
104	104	States, more than 6,800 of whom were killed;
105	105	Whereas most of the more than 20,000 estimated Japanese
106	106	soldiers who fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima were killed,
107	107	with only 1,083 Japanese soldiers surviving at the con-
108	108	clusion of the campaign;
109	109	Whereas the Battle of Iwo Jima led to 22 members of the
110	110	United States Marine Corps and 5 members of the
111	111	United States Navy receiving the Medal of Honor, rep-
112	112	resenting—
113	113	(1) the most members of the United States Marine
114	114	Corps ever to receive the highest military decoration in
115	115	the United States for a single battle; and
116	116	(2) more than one-fourth of all members of the
117	117	United States Marine Corps to receive the decoration
118	118	during World War II;
119	119	Whereas the secured airfields on Iwo Jima became emergency
120	120	landing locations for 2,400 B–29 Bombers, saving the
121	121	lives of an estimated 24,000 flight crewmen;
122	122	Whereas 160 days after the end and victory of the pivotal
123	123	Battle of Iwo Jima, the United States received the un-
124	124	conditional surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945;
125	125	Whereas the world owes a debt of gratitude to the members
126	126	of the United States Marine Corps who selflessly led the
127	127	fight for the strategic island of Iwo Jima in the middle
128	128	of the Pacific theater; and
129	129	Whereas the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima will
130	130	be marked by commemorative events throughout 2025 in
131	131	Washington, DC, on the island of Iwo Jima, and inter-
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134	134	•HRES 142 IH
135	135	nationally, organized by the people of the United States
136	136	and Japan: Now, therefore, be it
137	137	Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1
138	138	(1) recognizes the 80th anniversary of the am-2
139	139	phibious landing on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima 3
140	140	that began on February 19, 1945, and ended on 4
141	141	March 26, 1945; 5
142	142	(2) commemorates the iconic and historic 6
143	143	raisings of the flag of the United States on Mount 7
144	144	Suribachi that occurred on February 23, 1945; 8
145	145	(3) honors the marines, sailors, soldiers, army 9
146	146	air crew, and coast guardsmen who fought bravely 10
147	147	on Iwo Jima, including the thousands of Japanese 11
148	148	soldiers who defended the island; 12
149	149	(4) remembers and venerates the 13
150	150	servicemembers who gave their last full measure of 14
151	151	devotion on the battlefield; 15
152	152	(5) recognizes the Allied victory in the Battle of 16
153	153	Iwo Jima, which— 17
154	154	(A) was led by the United States Marine 18
155	155	Corps; and 19
156	156	(B) made the defeat of the Empire of 20
157	157	Japan in World War II possible; 21
158	158	(6) affirms the immortal words of Admiral 22
159	159	Chester Nimitz, who state that ‘‘uncommon valor 23
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162	162	•HRES 142 IH
163	163	was a common virtue’’ among the servicemembers of 1
164	164	the United States who fought on Iwo Jima; 2
165	165	(7) reaffirms the bonds of friendship between 3
166	166	the United States and Japan; 4
167	167	(8) encourages the people of the United States 5
168	168	to honor the veterans of the Battle of Iwo Jima with 6
169	169	appropriate programs, ceremonies and activities; and 7
170	170	(9) honors the service and sacrifice of the men 8
171	171	and women who serve the United States today car-9
172	172	rying on the proud tradition of the individuals who 10
173	173	came before them. 11
174	174	Æ
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