House Concurrent Resolution 117 PAG LIN 1 1 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. ___ 1 2 BY HORBACH 1 3 A Concurrent Resolution to honor the Meskwaki tribe 1 4 members who served as Code Talkers in North Africa 1 5 during World War II and to request that Congress and 1 6 the President of the United States honor all Code 1 7 Talkers who served in the United States armed forces. 1 8 WHEREAS, the languages of several Native American 1 9 tribes were developed for use as code during both 1 10 World War I and World War II and members of at least 1 11 18 tribes participated in the transmission of vital 1 12 information regarding the location of enemy troops and 1 13 numbers of enemy guns; and 1 14 WHEREAS, this code was never broken and the Native 1 15 American Code Talkers who transmitted the messages are 1 16 credited with saving the lives of countless numbers of 1 17 American soldiers; and 1 18 WHEREAS, these Code Talkers worked under terrible 1 19 conditions, taking extreme risks to provide the 1 20 necessary military information for our military forces 1 21 and sworn to secrecy in the event they were captured; 1 22 and 1 23 WHEREAS, eight members of the Meskwaki tribe from 1 24 Tama County, including Frank Sanache, his brother 1 25 Willard Sanache, Dewey Youngbear, Edward Benson, Judy 1 26 Wayne Wabaunasee, Mike Wayne Wabaunasee, Dewey 1 27 Roberts, and Melvin Twin, served as scouts and Code 1 28 Talkers for eight companies of their division in North 1 29 Africa during World War II; and 1 30 WHEREAS, the only surviving member of those eight 2 1 Meskwaki soldiers, Frank Sanache, endured terrible 2 2 hardships both while stationed in North Africa and 2 3 after being captured by the Germans and held prisoner 2 4 in a Polish internment camp; and 2 5 WHEREAS, Congress passed legislation in 2000 2 6 authorizing the issuance of Congressional Medals of 2 7 Honor to recognize the service of the Navajo Code 2 8 Talkers, which were presented by the President of the 2 9 United States in July of 2001, but members of other 2 10 tribes, such as Frank Sanache and the other Meskwaki 2 11 Code Talkers, did not receive the same recognition; 2 12 and 2 13 WHEREAS, it is fitting and proper that the valiant 2 14 efforts of all Native American Code Talkers be 2 15 recognized and honored; NOW THEREFORE, 2 16 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE 2 17 SENATE CONCURRING, That the Iowa General Assembly 2 18 recognizes the bravery and dedicated service of the 2 19 Meskwaki Code Talkers and expresses gratitude for the 2 20 contribution these soldiers made to saving many 2 21 American lives; and 2 22 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Iowa General 2 23 Assembly requests and encourages Congress and the 2 24 President of the United States to recognize the 2 25 contributions, bravery, and dedicated service of all 2 26 Code Talkers, including the eight soldiers from the 2 27 Meskwaki tribe, in the same manner as the Navajo Code 2 28 Talkers by awarding them the appropriate medals of 2 29 honor; and 2 30 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That, upon adoption, copies 3 1 of this Resolution be sent to the Majority and 3 2 Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the 3 3 Speaker, Majority Leader, and Minority Leader of the 3 4 United States House of Representatives, to the members 3 5 of the Iowa congressional delegation, and to the 3 6 President of the United States; and 3 7 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That, upon adoption, copies 3 8 of this Resolution be sent to Frank Sanache and to the 3 9 families of the other Meskwaki tribe members who 3 10 served as Code Talkers in World War II. 3 11 LSB 6654HH 80 3 12 lh/gg/14