The Iowa House today passed a resolution paying tribute to Iowa’s World War II veterans. The resolution designates December 7, 2011 as “Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day”.
Representative Jeff Kaufmann’s father and four uncles were World War II veterans. “This resolution today represents a moment of unity, a moment without division,” Kaufmann said. “At this moment in this chamber, there’s no rural or urban. There’s no Democrat or Republican, just reverence and the quiet whisper of ‘Thank you,’ from every corner of this chamber.”
Representative Royd Chambers of Sheldon pointed to the service of the Iowa National Guard’s 34th infantry division. It was the first division of the military to arrive in Europe. “So Iowans were on the front lines right away,” Chambers said. “In addition, that division participated in six major campaigns in the European theater and holds the distinction of the longest number of days on the front line, in combat, of any unit in World War II.”
Chambers and Representative Jeremy Taylor Sioux City are current members of the Iowa National Guard. Both have done recent tours of duty. More than a dozen current members of the Iowa House are military veterans.