House Resolution 31 - Introduced PAG LIN H.R. ________ S.R. ________ 1 1 HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 1 2 BY ABDUL=SAMAD, FORD, H. MILLER, 1 3 BERRY, BURT, and THEDE 1 4 A Resolution honoring Iowa's women military veterans. 1 5 WHEREAS, since the Revolutionary War, over 2.5 1 6 million women have served in the United States Armed 1 7 Forces; and 1 8 WHEREAS, during the Civil War, Spanish=American 1 9 War, and World War I, while their husbands and fathers 1 10 were in the Army, Iowa women ran the farms and the 1 11 stores, sent food and medicine to wounded soldiers, 1 12 and cared for wounded and sick soldiers; and 1 13 WHEREAS, during the second World War, Fort Des 1 14 Moines hosted the formation and first training center 1 15 for the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, later renamed 1 16 the Women's Army Corps, training 72,000 troops and 1 17 commissioning the first female officers for noncombat 1 18 duty between 1942 and 1945; and 1 19 WHEREAS, Fort Des Moines produced 118 black female 1 20 officers and 3,656 black enlisted women by war's end, 1 21 representing 4 percent of all Women's Army Corps 1 22 troops; and 1 23 WHEREAS, the women who trained at Fort Des Moines 1 24 were the first women other than nurses to serve within 1 25 the ranks of the United States Army; and 1 26 WHEREAS, over 150,000 American women served in the 1 27 Women's Army Corps during World War II, freeing 1 28 250,000 male soldiers for combat duty in Europe and 1 29 the South Pacific and helping in a large way to make 1 30 the war effort successful; and 2 1 WHEREAS, thousands of Iowa women were deployed 2 2 during the Vietnam War and Operations Desert Shield 2 3 and Desert Storm and served stateside in essential 2 4 mission support roles; and 2 5 WHEREAS, over 14,500 Iowa women continue to serve 2 6 their country in ever increasing numbers; and 2 7 WHEREAS, Iowa women have fulfilled the promise that 2 8 began at Fort Des Moines by attaining high ranks in 2 9 the military, including two Iowa women serving as 2 10 Brigadier Generals, Janet Phipps and State 2 11 Representative Jodi Tymeson; and 2 12 WHEREAS, over 14,000 women veterans make Iowa their 2 13 home today, and the Fort Des Moines Museum, which has 2 14 been open for five years, preserves and tells the 2 15 story of the women pioneers of Fort Des Moines; NOW 2 16 THEREFORE, 2 17 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 2 18 That the House of Representatives recognizes and 2 19 honors the service and achievements of women veterans 2 20 of Iowa, thanks them for their service to the United 2 21 States of America and to Iowa, and encourages all 2 22 Iowans to recognize the contributions of women, past 2 23 and present, in the armed forces. 2 24 LSB 2645HH 83 2 25 jr/nh/5.1