Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 40

Introduced by Senator Hueso

May 6, 2013

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 40—Relative to Korean War Armistice Day.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 40, as introduced, Hueso. Korean War Armistice Day.

This measure would proclaim July 27, 2013, as Korean War Armistice Day. It would urge Californians to observe the anniversary and call upon them to honor and give thanks to Korean War veterans. It would also urge Governor Jerry Brown to proclaim July 27, 2013, as Korean War Armistice Day and instruct all state departments, agencies, interest groups, organizations, and individuals to fly the United States flag at half-mast on July 27, 2013, in memory of veterans from this state who died as a result of their service in Korea.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, The peoples of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and
the State of California have maintained close ties since September
9, 1945, when Colonel Roy A. Green, a Sacramentan commanding
the California National Guard’s 184th Infantry Regiment (2nd
California Infantry) accepted the surrender of Imperial Japanese
forces south of the 38th parallel; and

WHEREAS, On June 25, 1950, the ROK was attacked by the
armed forces of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
(DPRK); and

WHEREAS, On June 30, 1950, President Harry S. Truman
authorized elements of the United States Army’s 24th Division
stationed in Japan to intervene in the invasion of the ROK, a move
that resulted in the near destruction of Task Force Smith, a
reinforced infantry battalion comprised of fewer than 500
personnel; and

WHEREAS, On June 29, Seoul, the capital of the ROK, fell for
the first time, with those ROK forces north of the Han River being
captured or killed; and

WHEREAS, The first major battle between American and DPRK
forces at Taejon resulted in the 24th Infantry Division experiencing
heavy losses, including its division commander, a Berkeley
resident, University of California graduate, and former member
of the California National Guard, Major General William F. Dean,
who was captured by the DPRK, but not before he displayed
personal heroism, including destroying a DPRK tank with a
“bazooka,” leading to his award of the Medal of Honor following
his release in 1953; and

WHEREAS, After being pushed into a small perimeter around
the port city of Pusan located at the southeastern tip of the Korean
peninsula, United Nations forces under the command of United
States Army General Douglas MacArthur executed perhaps the
most innovative and successful amphibious counterattack in world
history at the port of Inchon on September 15, 1950, resulting in
United Nations forces gaining the offensive and pushing the DPRK
forces north of the 38th parallel towards the Yalu River along the
border with China; and

WHEREAS, Units of the California National Guard were
activated for the conflict, including, on August 21, 1950, the 719th
Anti-Aircraft Artillery Gun Battalion, which was ordered into
active duty for service in Korea, with this recently racially
desegregated unit being followed on September 11, 1950, by the
1401st and 1402nd Engineer Combat Battalions, which were still
segregated; and

WHEREAS, The 719th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Gun Battalion
was returned to California state control from active federal military
service on April 14, 1952, and the 1401st and 1402nd Engineer
Combat Battalions were returned to state control from active
federal service on January 17, 1955, 18 months after the armistice,
as fully desegregated units; and

WHEREAS, On September 1, 1950, the California National
Guard’s 40th Infantry Division was again called into active federal
service. Departing out of Oakland Army Base and Fort Mason in
San Francisco in late March 1951, the division deployed to Japan
for occupation duty and combat training, including nine months
of participation in amphibious, air transportability, and live fire
training from Mount Fuji to Sendai; and

WHEREAS, On October 10, 1950, the California National
Guard’s 196th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, along with two other
National Guard squadrons from Florida and Georgia, were
federalized and formed the 116th Fighter-Bomber Wing at George
Air Force Base, Victorville, California; and

WHEREAS, On October 14, 1950, three Chinese field armies
supported by aircraft from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
crossed the Yalu River and engaged the United Nations forces on
October 25th, 1950; and

WHEREAS, On November 27, 1950, four Chinese field armies
attacked the 1st Marine and 7th Infantry Divisions at the Chosin
Reservoir, leading to a historic battle that resulted in the destruction
of 10 Chinese Infantry Divisions and the successful breakout and
withdrawal by sea of American forces that concluded on December
24, 1950; and

WHEREAS, On July 10, 1951, the 196th Fighter-Bomber
Squadron departed San Diego on the aircraft carrier USS Windham
Bay with its 18 F-84E “Thunderjet” fighter-bombers, arriving at
Yokosuka Naval Base on 24 July 1951; the squadron commenced
combat operations from Taegu Air Base, ROK, on December 28,
1951, and on June 10, 1952, the squadron stood down and was
relieved of its assignment, returning to California and reforming
at the Ontario Municipal Airport in January 1953; and

WHEREAS, On December 23, 1951, the 40th Infantry Division
received alert orders to move to Korea, where, in February 1951,
it relieved the 24th Infantry Division and subsequently participated
in the battles of Sandbag Castle, the Punchbowl, and Heartbreak
Ridge; the division suffered 376 soldiers killed in action and 1457
wounded, earning the ROK Presidential Unit Citation and three
individual Medals of Honor; and

WHEREAS, On July 27, 1953, a ceasefire between the United
Nations and the DPRK took effect. Although over 53,000 ROK
and United Nation troops, including more than 8,000 Americans,
remain missing in action; and

WHEREAS, With a state of war still existing between the United
Nations and the DPRK, the California Army and Air National
Guard continue in the active defense of the ROK by participating
in Team Spirit exercises, which ensures tactical and logistical
interoperability between the respective Armed Forces of the United
States and the ROK in the event that major combat operations or
other emergencies occur in the future; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature urges Californians to
observe the anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Day and
hereby proclaims July 27, 2013, as Korean War Armistice Day,
calling upon all Californians to observe this with appropriate
ceremonies and activities that honor and give thanks to our
distinguished Korean War veterans; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature urges Governor Jerry Brown to
proclaim July 27, 2013, as Korean War Armistice Day and instruct
all state departments, agencies, interest groups, organizations, and
individuals to fly the flag of the United States at half-mast on July
27, 2013, in memory of the Californians who died as a result of
their service in Korea; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Military
Department, and to the author for appropriate distribution.