2017 -- H 6092

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LC002348

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

COMMEMORATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNITED STATES ENTRY

INTO WORLD WAR I ON APRIL 6, 1917

     Introduced By: Representatives McNamara, Solomon, Morgan, McLaughlin, and
Azzinaro

     Date Introduced: April 06, 2017

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, April 6, 2017, marks the centennial anniversary of the United States of

America entering World War I, when Congress declared war on the German Empire; and

     WHEREAS, Rhode Island heeded the call to arms with 28,817 soldiers, approximately

the entire current population of the Town of Johnston, to serve in the Great War; and

     WHERESAS, Battery "A", Rhode Island Field Artillery, expanded to form the 1st

Battalion, 103rd Field Artillery, an element of the 26th "Yankee" Division during World War I,

and the coastal artillery companies, which were descended from infantry units, were mobilized in

1917 and were used to garrison Rhode Island's coastal defense forts for the duration of the war;

and

     WHEREAS, The battle flags carried by these units are on perpetual display at the Rhode

Island State House, but have recently been removed so they can be assessed and better preserved

for all time; and

     WHEREAS, During World War I, with the Rhode Island National Guard deployed

overseas, the General Assembly established the Rhode Island State Guard, raising 18 companies

composed of 100 men each, and established a headquarters and supply company, a machine-gun

detachment and a sanitary detachment; and

     WHEREAS, The day after the declaration of war, Rhode Island native George M. Cohan

wrote the anthem "Over There" warning Germans that the "Yanks are coming," which became the

most popular song of World War I, selling more than 2 million copies; and

     WHEREAS, The USS Rhode Island, a ship whose bell now rests at the entrance to the

House Chamber, did duty as flagship of Battleship Division 3, Atlantic Fleet, after war was

declared; and

     WHEREAS, Many Rhode Island civilians joined the war effort. Brown University

contributed three ambulances to the American Field Ambulance Service in France, forty staff

members of Rhode Island Hospital volunteered for service in the war, and the Providence Journal

started a tobacco fund for "Our Boys in France"; and

     WHEREAS, When the Rhode Island General Assembly established the State Police in

1925, every single recruit was a veteran of the First World War, including the first State Police

Superintendent, who had developed his command and management skills while serving as a field

commander in France; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby commemorates the 100th Anniversary of the United States of

America entering World War I. Furthermore, we take this time to remember the men and women

of Rhode Island who struggled so valiantly to preserve freedom; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to all Rhode Island general office holders, the

Rhode Island Congressional Delegation, the Adjutant General of the Rhode Island National

Guard, and the Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police.

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