BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  ACR 60
          Author:   Gilmore (R)
          Amended:  6/11/09 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SEN. TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE :  11-0, 6/9/09
          AYES:  Lowenthal, Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman,  
            Hollingsworth, Kehoe, Oropeza, Pavley, Simitian, Wolk

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  73-0 (Consent), 5/14/09 - See last page  
            for vote


           SUBJECT  :    The Medal of Honor Recipient Larry Stanley  
          Pierce 
                      Memorial Highway

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This resolution designates the portion of State  
          Route 46 within the city limits of Wasco in Kern County as  
          The Medal of Honor Recipient Larry Stanley Pierce Memorial  
          Highway."

          ANALYSIS  :    On September 26, 1965, at the age of 24, Larry  
          Stanley Pierce was serving as a sergeant in charge of a  
          reconnaissance platoon of the 1st Battalion of the 173rd  
          Airborne Brigade of the U.S. Army near Ben Cat in Vietnam  
          when his platoon was ambushed by hostile forces with  
                                                           CONTINUED





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          2

          machine gun fire.  Sergeant Pierce and his platoon routed  
          the ambushing party and gave chase to the remaining enemy  
          forces.  Sergeant Pierce's squad came upon a dirt road and,  
          as the main body of his men entered the road, Sergeant  
          Pierce discovered an antipersonnel mine in the road bed.   
          Realizing that the mine could destroy the majority of his  
          squad, Sergeant Pierce saved the lives of his 29 men at the  
          sacrifice of his life by throwing himself directly upon the  
          mine as it exploded.  For his actions, President Johnson  
          posthumously awarded Sergeant Pierce the Medal of Honor and  
          promoted him to Staff Sergeant, citing his conspicuous  
          gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and  
          beyond the call of duty.  Staff Sergeant Pierce was laid to  
          rest in Wasco Memorial Park.  In 2008, the federal  
          government renamed the United States Postal facility in  
          Taft as the Larry S. Pierce Post Office.

          This resolution designates the portion of State Route 46  
          within the city limits of Wasco in Kern County as "The  
          Medal of Honor Recipient Larry Stanley Pierce Memorial  
          Highway."  The resolution further requests the Department  
          of Transportation to erect appropriate signs upon receiving  
          donations from non-state sources to cover the costs.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Fiscal Com.:  Yes

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/23/09)

          City of Wasco (source)
          Cruz Rodriguez, Wasco Post Commander of the Veterans of  
          Foreign Wars
          AMVETS, Department of California


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Adams, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill,  
            Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Brownley,  
            Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,  
            Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,  
            Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,  
            Fuller, Furutani, Galgiani, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall,  
            Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,  
            Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie  
            Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,  







                                                                ACR 60
                                                                Page  
          3

            Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez,  
            Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Silva, Skinner,  
            Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,  
            Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Ammiano, Fuentes, Gaines, Garrick,  
            Saldana, Smyth, Bass


          JJA:cm  6/23/09   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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