Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 117.djvu/2978

 CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS—NOV. 19, 2003

117 STAT. 2959

Whereas in the early 1950s, Alvin King suggested either creating a special day to honor all veterans or adapting Armistice Day so that it was dedicated to all veterans since, at that time, Armistice Day honored the veterans of World War I; Whereas by 1953, the community of Emporia, Kansas, had raised enough money to send Alvin King and his wife, Gertrude, to Washington, D.C. to garner support for an official veterans day; Whereas Alvin King had a friend and supporter in Representative Ed Rees of Emporia, Kansas, who was strongly in favor of King’s idea and said ‘‘it would give the holiday a new meaning and more widespread patriotic observance’’; Whereas on June 1, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was raised in Kansas, signed into law the Act proclaiming November 11 as Veterans Day (Public Law 380 of the 83rd Congress); Whereas on October 8, 1954, President Eisenhower issued a presidential proclamation concerning Veterans Day in 1954 in which he stated, ‘‘On that day let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain’’; and Whereas the first nationwide observance of Veterans Day was on November 11, 1954: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That Congress hereby— (1) encourages Americans to demonstrate their support for veterans on Veterans Day by treating that day as a special day of remembrance; (2) declares Emporia, Kansas, to be the founding city of Veterans Day; (3) recognizes Alvin J. King, of Emporia, Kansas, as the founder of Veterans Day; and (4) recognizes that Representative Ed Rees, of Emporia, Kansas, was instrumental in the efforts to enact into law the observance of Veterans Day. Agreed to October 31, 2003.

POPE JOHN PAUL II—PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM REQUEST

Nov. 19, 2003 [H. Con. Res. 313]

Whereas His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, was born Karol Jozef Wojtyla in Wadowice, Poland, on May 18, 1920, the youngest of 3 children, born to Karol Wojtyla and Emilia Kaczorowska; Whereas Pope John Paul II personally suffered and experienced deprivation from an early age, losing his mother, eldest brother, and father before turning age 21; Whereas Pope John Paul II found comfort and strength in the example of his father’s faith, who he observed ‘‘after my mother’s death, his life became one of constant prayer. Sometimes I would

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