Bill Text: CA SCR66 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered

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Bill Title: 71st anniversary of D-Day, the invasion of Normandy.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 9-1)

Status: (Passed) 2015-07-14 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 102, Statutes of 2015. [SCR66 Detail]

Download: California-2015-SCR66-Chaptered.html

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BILL NUMBER: SCR 66	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER  102
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  JULY 14, 2015
	ADOPTED IN SENATE  JUNE 8, 2015
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  JULY 9, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Stone
   (Coauthors: Senators Bates, Fuller, Huff, Morrell, Nguyen,
Nielsen, Roth, Runner, and Vidak)

                        MAY 22, 2015

   Relative to the 71st anniversary of D-Day, the invasion of
Normandy.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SCR 66, Stone. 71st anniversary of D-Day, the invasion of
Normandy.
   This measure would recognize June 6, 2015, as the 71st anniversary
of the invasion of Normandy, also known as D-Day. This measure would
express the gratitude and appreciation of the Legislature to the
members of the United States Armed Forces who participated in D-Day,
and would call upon the people of California to observe the
anniversary with appropriate reflections and recognition.



   WHEREAS, June 6, 2015, marks the 71st anniversary of the invasion
at Normandy, France, by the Allied forces, known as Operation
Overlord; and
   WHEREAS, Before Operation Overlord, the German Army occupied
France and the Nazi government had access to the raw materials and
industrial capacity of Western Europe; and
   WHEREAS, Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower
called Operation Overlord a "Crusade in Europe," telling the
soldiers, sailors, and airmen who would participate in the operation
that "The free men of the world are marching together to victory. I
have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in
battle"; and
   WHEREAS, The naval assault phase on Normandy was code-named
"Neptune," and the June 6th assault date is referred to as D-Day to
denote the day on which the invasion was launched; and
   WHEREAS, Significant aerial bombardments and operations, including
Operation Fortitude, by Allied forces during the weeks and months
leading up to and in support of Operation Overlord, played a
significant role in the success of the Normandy landings; and
   WHEREAS, More than 13,000 soldiers parachuted, and several hundred
soldiers in the glider units, participating in Mission Detroit and
Mission Chicago, landed behind enemy lines to secure landing fields
in the 24 hours preceding the amphibious landing; and
   WHEREAS, Soldiers of six divisions, composed of three American,
two British, and one Canadian division, stormed ashore in five main
landing areas on beaches in Normandy that were code-named "Utah,"
"Omaha," "Gold," "Juno," and "Sword"; and
   WHEREAS, The D-Day landing was the largest single amphibious
assault in history, consisting of approximately 31,000 members of the
United States Armed Forces and more than 3,000 vehicles that
embarked on 208 vessels from Weymouth and Portland, England; and
   WHEREAS, Of the estimated 9,400 casualties incurred by Allied
forces on the first day of the landing, an estimated 5,400 casualties
were members of the United States Armed Forces; and
   WHEREAS, Only five days after the initial landing, Allied forces
secured a beachhead that was 50 miles long and 12 miles deep and was
occupied by more than 325,000 soldiers; and
   WHEREAS, On July 25, 1944, Allied forces launched Operation COBRA
to break out of the beachhead and began the liberation of France,
which ultimately contributed to the destruction of the Nazi regime on
May 7, 1945; and
   WHEREAS, Planned for over two years by Allied forces, the D-Day
invasion was an intricate coordination of the world's greatest
military forces and an exercise in cooperation that marked the
turning point of the war and the world's history; and
   WHEREAS, Members of the "greatest generation" assumed the task of
cooperating to free the world from Nazi and Fascist regimes and
restore liberty to Europe; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes June 6, 2015, as
the 71st anniversary of the invasion of Normandy, also known as
D-Day; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature expresses its gratitude and
appreciation to the members of the United States Armed Forces and the
Allied forces who cooperated and sacrificed in this critical battle
to secure liberation from the Nazi and Fascist regimes; and be it
further
   Resolved, That the Legislature calls upon the people of California
to observe the 71st anniversary of D-Day with appropriate
reflections of this period of world history and recognition of all
those Californians and Americans who have sacrificed for freedom; and
be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.