Bill Text: CA ACR163 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Blue Star Memorial Highway.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2016-08-16 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 124, Statutes of 2016. [ACR163 Detail]
Download: California-2015-ACR163-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: ACR 163 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 124
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 16, 2016
ADOPTED IN SENATE AUGUST 11, 2016
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 16, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Atkins
APRIL 4, 2016
Relative to a Blue Star Memorial Highway.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 163, Atkins. Blue Star Memorial Highway.
This measure would designate State Highway Route 282 from Orange
Avenue in the City of Coronado to Naval Air Station North Island as a
Blue Star Memorial Highway. The measure would request the Department
of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate plaques and
markers showing that designation, and, upon receiving donations from
nonstate sources sufficient to cover that cost, to erect the
appropriate plaques and markers.
WHEREAS, The Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker program was adopted
in 1945 by the National Council of State Garden Clubs and was
approved by California Garden Clubs, Inc. in 1947; and
WHEREAS, The Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker program began after
World War II to pay tribute to the nation's Armed Forces by
designating state and national routes as Blue Star Memorial Highways.
The purpose of the Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker program is to
erect highway markers at roadside rest stops, vista points,
historical sites, and other appropriate areas to pay tribute to all
who have served, those who are presently serving, and those who will
serve in the nation's Armed Forces; and
WHEREAS, Members of the Avenue of Heroes Neighborhood Association
from the City of Coronado, California, wish to erect markers along
State Highway Route 282 from Orange Avenue in the City of Coronado to
Naval Air Station North Island to honor all of the military branches
that formed today's North Island and our current service members who
are still making sacrifices for our country; and
WHEREAS, The association presented this proposal to the National
Council of State Garden Clubs; and
WHEREAS, From international explorers to the First Aero Squadron
and from the Spanish-American War to the War on Terror, North Island
has been a strategic military post and home to all branches of the
United States Armed Forces. North Island served as a base for the
beginnings of Army and naval flight, was modernized by the United
States Marine Corps, and was an incubator for the United States Coast
Guard, Signal Corps, and Air Force; and
WHEREAS, The City of Coronado has the reputation as a "Navy Town,"
unchanging in its beautiful Victorian architecture. It has become
home to all branches of the armed services and has included many
illustrious and famous military retirees; and
WHEREAS, The designation of State Highway Route 282 as a Blue Star
Memorial Highway is intended to be in conjunction with the City of
Coronado's Avenue of Heroes Banner Program to honor such heroes as
Navy Seal Petty Officer First Class Jeffrey S. Taylor, who was killed
in action on June 28, 2005, when the MH-47 helicopter he was aboard
on a rescue mission crashed in Kunar Province, Afghanistan; the late
Lt. Gen. James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle, a Medal of Honor recipient,
who led 16 American Mitchell B-25 bombers on April 18, 1942, from the
deck of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet on a raid to bomb the
Japanese mainland during World War II and who later commanded the
powerful Eighth Air Force in Europe and the Pacific from January 1944
to September 1945; the late Vice Adm. James Bond Stockdale, Medal of
Honor recipient, Vietnam War hero, and indomitable spirit of the
Hanoi Hilton, who was shot down by antiaircraft fire after flying his
A-4 Skyhawk off the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany on his
last mission and was imprisoned in the Hanoi Hilton by the North
Vietnamese; the late United States Navy Commander Francis Fane, who
joined the Navy's underwater demolitions team during World War II,
becoming a legend in Navy special forces, developing advanced diving
equipment and diving techniques, and laying much of the groundwork
for the future Navy Seals; Navy Commander Dean "Diz" Laird, who
became the only known U.S. Navy ace to shoot down both German and
Japanese airplanes during World War II; Navy Commander Theodore
"Spuds" Ellyson, who, while stationed at North Island, the first
naval officer assigned to aviation duty, the first passenger of a
seaplane, the first pilot to land on water at night, and was the
first and only commander of North Island's Camp Trouble; Maj. Gen.
Joseph H. Pendleton of the United States Marine Corps, whose
foresight, persuasive skills, and focused tenacity made the San Diego
area the military center it is today; and, among many more heroes to
be honored, Navy Capt. Leonard "Len" Kaine, who became a Top Gun
fighter pilot and who was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize;
and
WHEREAS, The Blue Star Memorial Highway will honor more than 34
past and present members of the Armed Forces along State Highway
Route 282's Avenue of Heroes in the City of Coronado and the list
will continue to grow as more banners are added and heroes are
recognized; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates State
Highway Route 282 from Orange Avenue in the City of Coronado to Naval
Air Station North Island as a Blue Star Memorial Highway; and be it
further
Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested to
determine the cost of appropriate plaques and markers, consistent
with the signing requirements for the state highway system, showing
this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate
sources sufficient to cover the cost, to erect those plaques and
markers; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author
for appropriate distribution.
