House Resolution 38 - Introduced

PAG LIN

                                    H.R. ________ S.R. ________


  1  1                HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.    
  1  2     BY  ZIRKELBACH, WHITEAD, WINDSCHITL, D. TAYLOR,
  1  3         BAILEY, FICKEN, KEARNS, BUKTA, MASCHER,
  1  4        ALONS, SWEENEY, WATTS, VAN ENGELENHOVEN,
  1  5           TYMESON, THOMAS, GAYMAN, and RANTS
  1  6 A Resolution to protect and preserve the battleship
  1  7    USS Iowa.
  1  8    WHEREAS, in the late 1930s grave threats emerged to
  1  9 America's seapower, as the Nazis began construction of
  1 10 the 50,000=ton Bismarck and the Empire of Japan began
  1 11 construction of a 71,000=ton leviathan, the Yamato;
  1 12 and
  1 13    WHEREAS, America countered those threats with the
  1 14 45,000=ton "Iowa" class of fast battleships, the
  1 15 ultimate in the evolution of the capital ship and also
  1 16 its last hurrah; and
  1 17    WHEREAS, BB=61, the USS Iowa, was commissioned in
  1 18 1943 and was tasked to transport President Franklin D.
  1 19 Roosevelt across the Atlantic to Casablanca, a mission
  1 20 that resulted in the USS Iowa being the only American
  1 21 warship to be equipped with a bathtub; and
  1 22    WHEREAS, the USS Iowa completed her World War II
  1 23 service in the Pacific theater anchored in Tokyo Bay
  1 24 as part of the Japanese surrender ceremonies in 1945,
  1 25 and later served in the Korean War; and
  1 26    WHEREAS, the USS Iowa earned nine battle stars for
  1 27 World War II service and two for Korean War service;
  1 28 and
  1 29    WHEREAS, the venerable ship was decommissioned for
  1 30 the last time in 1990 and is currently berthed with
  2  1 the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, near
  2  2 San Francisco, California; and
  2  3    WHEREAS, former Governors Robert D. Ray and Terry
  2  4 E. Branstad and former Governor and current United
  2  5 States Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack
  2  6 serve as honorary chairpersons of efforts to preserve
  2  7 the USS Iowa as a national museum and memorial, truly
  2  8 a source of pride for all Iowans; and
  2  9    WHEREAS, those efforts include restoration of the
  2 10 USS Iowa and future service as an educational museum
  2 11 and tourist attraction, and perhaps, with her many
  2 12 facilities still intact, service as an emergency
  2 13 response center; NOW THEREFORE
  2 14    BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
  2 15 That the House of Representatives supports current
  2 16 efforts to restore and preserve the USS Iowa as a
  2 17 museum ship and a living memorial to all those who
  2 18 served on her, and urges all Iowans to join in these
  2 19 efforts.
  2 20 LSB 2697HH 83
  2 21 jr/rj/5