Bill Text: CA ACR208 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Senior Master Sergeant John James Paoletti Memorial Highway.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 57-18-1)
Status: (Passed) 2022-09-06 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 171, Statutes of 2022. [ACR208 Detail]
Download: California-2021-ACR208-Chaptered.html
Assembly Concurrent Resolution
No. 208
CHAPTER 171
Relative to the Senior Master Sergeant John James Paoletti Memorial Highway.
[
Filed with
Secretary of State
September 06, 2022.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 208, Davies.
Senior Master Sergeant John James Paoletti Memorial Highway.
This measure would designate the portion of State Route 5 from El Horno Street, at postmile 10.001, to Crown Valley Parkway, at postmile 13.776, in the County of Orange as the Senior Master Sergeant John James Paoletti Memorial Highway. The measure would request that the Department of Transportation determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, erect those signs.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee: YESBill Text
WHEREAS, Senior Master Sergeant John James Paoletti (John) was born on November 24, 1924, in Alpha, New Jersey; and
WHEREAS, John was the 3rd of 10 children born to Domenico and Rosa Paoletti; and
WHEREAS, Domenico and Rosa immigrated from Foggia, Italy, to the United States in 1919; and
WHEREAS, Domenico went on to serve his adopted country in the United States Army in the 99th Infantry Division during World War I and, during his service, he received many distinctions of honor, including the Purple Heart; and
WHEREAS, John attended Phillipsburg High School in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, when on July 29, 1943, he and many of his fellow classmates were drafted into the United States Army to help fight in World War II (he later went on to receive a general equivalency diploma (GED)); and
WHEREAS, John was sent to Camp Davis in North Carolina for basic infantry training, then traveled on the Queen Elizabeth to Europe, with Germany as the eventual destination; and
WHEREAS, John was assigned to a radar and searchlight company in the United States Army’s 99th Infantry Division, the same Infantry Division his father served in during World War I; and
WHEREAS, As boots on the ground in Germany during the Battle of the Bulge, John and his 99th Infantry Division were the first complete infantry division to cross the Rhine River to capture the Remagen Bridge, which proved pivotal in their mission to collapse the Ruhr Pocket; and
WHEREAS, John was hit with shrapnel in his right eye and knee during the battles while pushing towards the Town of Moosburg, which had several prisoners of war (POW) camps, and, once at the camps, they fought and liberated over 100,000 Allied POWs, including members of their own 99th Infantry Division who were captured during the Battle of the Bulge; and
WHEREAS, On May 6, 1945, World War II ended, and John was sent to join the United States Army’s 2nd Infantry Division for the Invasion of Japan; and
WHEREAS, John was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), Combat Central Europe Rhineland, on May 20, 1945; and
WHEREAS, On February 14, 1946, John was honorably discharged from the United States Army; and
WHEREAS, On May 10, 1949, John reenlisted into the United States Air Force and was sent to Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming; and
WHEREAS, John’s distinguished United States Air Force career included numerous cryptology assignments, many of which were considered classified and top secret; and
WHEREAS, John met and married the love of his life, Gloria, while stationed at Royal Air Force Lakenheath in England and they stayed married for 59 years; and
WHEREAS, Together, John and Gloria raised four strong and independent daughters, have eight grandchildren, and have four great-grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, John and Gloria moved to the City of San Clemente in 1996; and
WHEREAS, John so loved his country that he dedicated his retirement years to volunteering to teach young pupils the great history of the United States by sharing his World War II experience; and
WHEREAS, John created an hour-long presentation, complete with detailed maps, war memorabilia, wartime uniforms, and photos to engage pupils on what it was like to be boots on the ground during the Battle of the Bulge, and John regularly closed his presentation with this quote, “If you can read this thank a teacher. If you can read it in English, thank a veteran;” and
WHEREAS, John inspired and made history come alive for many pupils, and one pupil was especially inspired; and
WHEREAS, John learned before his passing in 2020 that a young high school pupil who attended his history talk was so inspired that he now serves as an active United States Navy Seal, and this young man credits John as his inspiration to serve his country; and
WHEREAS, We will never know the future impact of John’s inspirational history talk, as he shared his experience and invited young pupils to consider the Armed Forces of the United States as a future career; and
WHEREAS, John volunteered at the Dorothy Visser Senior Center in the City of San Clemente during his lunch hour and was active in the Italian Catholic Federation; and
WHEREAS, John loved attending local veteran events, highlighted by joining his fellow veterans in Honor Flight; and
WHEREAS, John was an active participant at the South Orange County Veterans Center, where he enjoyed support and fellowship with fellow World War II and Korean War veterans; and
WHEREAS, As a veteran of the United States Army and the United States Air Force, John was heavily involved with local veteran organizations as well as the senior centers in the City of San Clemente, where he and his wife spent their lives and raised their children since 1996; and
WHEREAS, Therefore, it is appropriate that memorial signs be placed on State Route 5 from El Horno Street, at postmile 10.001, to Crown Valley Parkway, at postmile 13.776, in the County of Orange as a way to honor John’s memory; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates the portion of State Route 5 between El Horno Street, at postmile 10.001, to Crown Valley Parkway, at postmile 13.776, in the County of Orange as the Senior Master Sergeant John James Paoletti Memorial Highway; and be it further
Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested to determine the cost of appropriate signs consistent with the signing requirements for the state highway system showing this special designation and, upon receiving funds from the deceased’s family sufficient to cover that cost, to erect those signs; 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.
