71st OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2001 Regular Session
Enrolled
House Concurrent Resolution 5
Sponsored by Representative HILL, Senator ATKINSON;
Representatives BACKLUND, BARNHART, BECK, BOWMAN, BROWN,
BUTLER, CARLSON, CLOSE, DEVLIN, DOYLE, GARDNER, GARRARD, HASS,
HAYDEN, HOPSON, JOHNSON, KAFOURY, KING, KNOPP, KRIEGER, KROPF,
KRUMMEL, LOWE, MARCH, MERKLEY, MINNIS, MONNES ANDERSON,
MORRISETTE, NELSON, PATRIDGE, SHETTERLY, SIMMONS, G SMITH, P
SMITH, T SMITH, VERGER, WESTLUND, WILLIAMS, WINTERS, WIRTH,
WITT, ZAUNER, Senators R BEYER, BROWN, BURDICK, CARTER, CLARNO,
CORCORAN, COURTNEY, DECKERT, DERFLER, DUNCAN, FERRIOLI, FISHER,
GEORGE, HARPER, HARTUNG, MESSERLE, METSGER, MILLER, TROW (at
the request of Oregon Chapter of Theodore Roosevelt
Association)
Whereas the Second Oregon Volunteer Infantry was called into
service April 25, 1898, at the request of President William
McKinley to provide a regiment of volunteer troops from the state
of Oregon to serve in the Spanish American War and Philippine
Insurrection; and
Whereas the members of the infantry were the first troops to
enter Guam, the first to land in the Philippines and the first to
enter the walled city of Manila to raise the American flag; and
Whereas these brave young Oregonians fought in 42 battles,
engagements and skirmishes, marched 500 miles in three months and
were one of three regiments who honorably performed the trying
duty of provost guard in Manila; and
Whereas 13 Oregonians gave their lives in battle, three died of
wounds, three were captured and killed, 43 died of disease, one
died of an accident and one drowned; and
Whereas several members of the infantry were honored by their
country with the Congressional Medal of Honor, including Marcus
Robertson of Hood River, who received the medal for valor in a
battle near San Isidro as a scout assigned to an elite
reconnaissance unit; and
Whereas the infantry replaced the Spanish flag flying over the
walled city of Manila with the American flag, and the replaced
Spanish flag is now kept in honor by the Oregon Historical
Society; and
Whereas President Theodore Roosevelt declared of the men of the
infantry on his visit to Portland on May 21, 1903, 'It was a
pleasure to me today to have as part of my escort the men of the
Second Oregon, who carried on the expansion of our people beyond
the Pacific as your fathers had carried it on to the Pacific';
and
Whereas President Theodore Roosevelt, who was recently
posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for leading
the Rough Riders in the Battle of San Juan Hill, brings to mind
the sacrifice of the young Oregonians who answered the call to
duty as volunteers in 1898, and distinguished themselves on the
battlefield; and
Whereas the spirit of selfless dedication to duty, country,
preparedness and the tireless defense of freedom are as current
to our freedom and well-being now as they were in 1898; and
Enrolled House Concurrent Resolution 5 (HCR 5-INTRO) Page 1
Whereas all of the 1,296 enlisted men and 56 officers have now
passed on; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of
Oregon:
That we, the members of the Seventy-first Legislative Assembly,
honor the members of the Second Oregon Volunteer Infantry; and be
it further
Resolved, That each year, August 13, the anniversary of the
1898 capture of Manila by the Second Oregon Volunteer Infantry,
shall be celebrated as Preparedness Day to remind Oregonians of
the sacrifice and spirit of the Second Oregon Volunteer Infantry.
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Adopted by House March 29, 2001
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Chief Clerk of House
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Speaker of House
Adopted by Senate April 25, 2001
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President of Senate
Enrolled House Concurrent Resolution 5 (HCR 5-INTRO) Page 2