Senate Resolution 19 - Introduced

PAG LIN

                                    S.R. ________ H.R. ________


  1  1                SENATE RESOLUTION NO.    
  1  2           BY  KIBBIE, GRONSTAL, and McKINLEY
  1  3 A Resolution to protect and preserve the battleship
  1  4    USS Iowa.
  1  5    WHEREAS, in the late 1930s grave threats emerged to
  1  6 America's seapower, as the Nazis began construction of
  1  7 the 50,000=ton Bismarck and the Empire of Japan began
  1  8 construction of a 71,000=ton leviathan, the Yamato;
  1  9 and
  1 10    WHEREAS, America countered those threats with the
  1 11 45,000=ton "Iowa" class of fast battleships, the
  1 12 ultimate in the evolution of the capital ship and also
  1 13 its last hurrah; and
  1 14    WHEREAS, BB=61, the USS Iowa, was built when a
  1 15 generation of Americans, including many Iowans, united
  1 16 in an enormous mission == to stop the forces of
  1 17 tyranny in World War II; and
  1 18    WHEREAS, the battleship was completed in 1943,
  1 19 serving our nation for over five decades in almost
  1 20 every major deployment of our armed services, and was
  1 21 President Franklin D. Roosevelt's personal battleship,
  1 22 outfitted with a Presidential cabin; and
  1 23    WHEREAS, the USS Iowa completed her World War II
  1 24 service in the Pacific theater anchored in Tokyo Bay
  1 25 as part of the Japanese surrender ceremonies in 1945,
  1 26 and later served in the Korean War; and
  1 27    WHEREAS, the USS Iowa earned nine battle stars for
  1 28 World War II service and two for Korean War service;
  1 29 and
  1 30    WHEREAS, the venerable ship was decommissioned for
  2  1 the last time in 1990 and is currently berthed with
  2  2 the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, near
  2  3 San Francisco, California; and
  2  4    WHEREAS, the State of Iowa has formally expressed
  2  5 its support for the preservation of the USS Iowa, and
  2  6 the Iowa and California congressional delegations have
  2  7 worked to assure that the USS Iowa is placed at a
  2  8 location that is in the best interest of our nation;
  2  9 and
  2 10    WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of the Navy has
  2 11 declared the proposal of Historic Ships Memorial at
  2 12 Pacific Square, a nonprofit corporation, to berth the
  2 13 USS Iowa in the San Francisco Bay Area at historic
  2 14 Mare Island, Vallejo, California, to be the sole
  2 15 remaining viable bid for preserving the USS Iowa as a
  2 16 museum and memorial; and
  2 17    WHEREAS, former Governors Robert D. Ray and Terry
  2 18 E. Branstad and former Governor and current United
  2 19 States Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack
  2 20 serve as honorary chairpersons of efforts to preserve
  2 21 the USS Iowa as a national museum and memorial, truly
  2 22 a source of pride for all Iowans; and
  2 23    WHEREAS, those efforts include restoration of the
  2 24 USS Iowa and future service as an educational museum
  2 25 and tourist attraction, and perhaps, with her many
  2 26 facilities still intact, service as an emergency
  2 27 response center; and
  2 28    WHEREAS, the restoration and preservation of the
  2 29 USS Iowa will honor all veterans of the State of Iowa,
  2 30 inspire youth, and educate the public; NOW THEREFORE
  3  1    BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, That the Senate
  3  2 supports current efforts to restore and preserve the
  3  3 USS Iowa as a museum ship and a living memorial to all
  3  4 those who served on her, and urges all Iowans to join
  3  5 in these efforts.
  3  6 LSB 2697SS 83
  3  7 jr/rj/5.1