Lex Anteinternet: The Lost Cause and the Arlington Confederate Monument. Cliffnotes of the Zeitgeist, 53d Edition.

Lex Anteinternet: The Lost Cause and the Arlington Confederate Monum...: 

The Lost Cause and the Arlington Confederate Monument. Cliffnotes of the Zeitgeist, 53d Edition.

Laying the cornerstone in 1912.

Coming at a particularly odd time, given the resurgence of the type of views that the monument represents¹, the Federal Government is removing the Confederate Memorial from Arlington National Cemetery.

A massive allegorical work, the monument by Moses Jacob Ezekiel² portrays the Southern cause heroically, and includes a slave in the "mammy" role, saddened by the departure of her soldier owner.

Probably always offensive, the work was part of the rise of the Lost Cause myth in the early 20th Century, which is when many of these monuments date from.  It's being removed and will be relocated at a park dedicated to Confederate monuments.

This process has been going on for a while. Under President Biden, military posts named for Confederate generals have been renamed, but even before that, monuments in Southern states started coming down on a local basis.  Interestingly, right now the Southern cause is strongly in mind as Donald Trump tacks closer and closer to the secessionist's view of the nation that brought the war about and which preserved racial segregation for a century thereafter.

The monument itself was located in the Confederate Section of Arlington, which was created in 1900 at the request of those who felt that Confederate dead in the cemetery should be located together.  Ironically, the move was opposed by some in the South, who felt that they should be relocated to "Southern soil".  Laying of the cornerstone of the monument came in 1912, and it was dedicated, Woodrow Wilson in attendance, in 1914.

Wilson at dedication of the monument in 1914.

Things like this are particularly problematic in various ways. For one thing, the monument is a work of art, and as such it has its own merits, no matter how dramatically flawed its image of the Southern cause was.  And they have, interestingly, an image of the South which was, while false, sort of bizarrely aspirational in that it depicted, as many such monuments of that period for that cause do, a South which was a yeoman state, when in reality the South was controlled by strong large scale economic interest to the detriment of the Southern yeoman, and certainly to the massive detriment of Southern blacks.

And they also reflect a period of American history, lasting roughly from the end of Reconstruction to the Civil Rights Era, when the nation as a whole adopted a false view of itself, or at least a large portion of itself.  They reflect, therefore, the zeitgeist of that time and our own.  Removing the monuments is understandable, but it doesn't cure the massive defect of past racism and slavery.  It does serve to help us forget how racist we once were, and not only in the 1776 to 1865 time frame, but the 1865 to mid 1970s time frame as well.

Footnotes:

1.  Just this past week Donald Trump, whose acolytes sometimes brandish the Confederate battle flat at his events, or in support of him in general, spoke of immigrants "poisoning" the blood of Americans, much like Southern Americans sometimes did in regard to desegregation in the 1960s.  The Nazi allegory has come up frequently, but to my ear, perhaps because I'm old enough to remember the tail end of that era, it sounds more the Southern view of the 60s or even 70s.

2.  This work is by far Ezekiel's best known one.  Interestingly, another major one is an allegorical monument from the 1870s dedicated to and entitled Religious Liberty.

Last Prior Edition:

Lame. Cliffnotes of the Zeitgeist, 52nd Edition.

Fort Gordon now Fort Eisenhower.

The post in Georgia has been renamed for Kansan and former President, Dwight Eisenhower.

It's somewhat surprising to realize that nothing had been named for Eisenhower until now.   Eisenhower is so well known to Americans, he really needs no introduction here.

Gordon might.

A lawyer and a plantation owner, Gordon was a cavalry commander during the Civil War.  Following the South's defeat, he was elected to the U.S. Senate from Georgia, became its Governor, and then returned to the Senate.  He never recanted from his racist views.  He died in 1904.

Today In Wyoming's History: Battle of the Rosebud Battlefield, Montana.

Today In Wyoming's History: Battle of the Rosebud Battlefield, Montana.: 

Battle of the Rosebud Battlefield, Montana.

The Battle of the Rosebud was an important June 1876 battle that came, on June 17, just days prior to the Battle of the Little Big Horn.  Fought by the same Native American combatants, who crossed from their Little Big Horn encampment to counter 993 cavalrymen and mule mounted infantrymen who had marched north from Ft. Fetterman, Wyoming, at the same time troops under Gen. Terry, including Custer's command, were proceeding west from Ft. Abraham Lincoln.  Crook's command included, like Terry's, Crow scouts, and he additionally was augmented soon after leaving Ft. Fetterman by Shoshoni combatants.

The battlefield today is nearly untouched.

Called the Battle Where the Sister Saved Her Brother, or the Battle Where the Girl Saved Her Brother, like Little Big Horn, it was a Sioux and Arapaho victory, although it did not turn into an outright disaster like Little Big Horn. Caught in a valley and attacked, rather than attacking into a valley like Custer, the Army took some ground and held its positions, and then withdrew.  Crook was effectively knocked out of action for the rest of the year and retreated into the Big Horn mountains in Wyoming.

 

Fort A. P. Hill renamed Ft. Walker.

Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia was redesignated Friday as Fort Walker in honor of Dr. Mary Walker, the only female recipient of the Medal of Honor.

She was a surgeon who was awarded the medal during the Civil War.  Her citation, which was rescinded with the mass Medal of Honor retractions of the 20th Century, and then restored by President Carter, reads:

Whereas it appears from official reports that Dr. Mary E. Walker, a graduate of medicine, “has rendered valuable service to the Government, and her efforts have been earnest and untiring in a variety of ways,” and that she was assigned to duty and served as an assistant surgeon in charge of female prisoners at Louisville, Ky., upon the recommendation of Major-Generals Sherman and Thomas, and faithfully served as contract surgeon in the service of the United States, and has devoted herself with much patriotic zeal to the sick and wounded soldiers, both in the field and hospitals, to the detriment of her own health, and has also endured hardships as a prisoner of war four months in a Southern prison while acting as contract surgeon; and Whereas by reason of her not being a commissioned officer in the military service, a brevet or honorary rank cannot, under existing laws, be conferred upon her; and

Whereas in the opinion of the President an honorable recognition of her services and sufferings should be made:

It is ordered, That a testimonial thereof shall be hereby made and given to the said Dr. Mary E. Walker, and that the usual medal of honor for meritorious services be given her.

Given under my hand in the city of Washington, D.C., this 11th day of November, A.D. 1865.

Andrew Johnson,

President

A free thinker who had taken up medicine before the Civil War, she lived until 1919, dying at age 86.  In spite of her long life, her health was impared after the war due to conditions she indured with a Confederate prisoner of war.

The lonely B-24

After putting up the post yesterday on the B-17 "Casper Kid", I realized I hadn't posted these photos of the marker for the B-24 that went down in Natrona County in 1945.  I took the photos a year ago.

I've been aware of this wreck my entire life, although apparently the location was regarded as lost.  Only recently has this memorial been put up.

As with the Casper Kid, it's good to see the plane and its crew remembered.  Men who gave their lives for their country, but not in the way the expected.  In this case, they went down in the dead of winter and the conditions were so severe that there was little that could be done to attempt to rescue them. All perished.

 

The Crew of the B-17F, "The Casper Kid".

 

This is a new memorial in Wyoming's Powder River Basin, dedicated to the crew of the "Casper Kid", a B-17F that went down in what would have been an incredibly remote lonely spot on February 25, 1943.

In recent years, there's been a dedicated effort in Central Wyoming to memorialize the crews who did in aviation accidents during the Second World War. This is the second such memorial I'm aware of (there may be more) which is dedicated to the crew of an airplane that was flying out of the Casper Air Base, which is now the Natrona County International Airport. Both accidents memorialized so far were winter accidents which resulted in the loss of an aircraft in remote country.

We don't tend to think of those lost in training accidents as war dead, but they were.  And there are a lot of them.

Lex Anteinternet: Friday, June 25, 1943. Murder in Ukraine, tragedy in Nova Scotia, race riot in UK.

Lex Anteinternet: Friday, June 25, 1943. Murder in Ukraine, tragedy...: 

Friday, June 25, 1943. Murder in Ukraine, tragedy in Nova Scotia, race riot in UK.

The Germans completed the eradication of the Jewish population of Stanislav (Ivano-Frankivsk) in Ukraine.

The "Battle of Bamber Bridge" occurred in the UK when white Military Police intervened in a pub which had stretched out drinking hours for black US troops and then attempted to cite one for improper uniform.  Shots were ultimately fired and one of the soldiers was killed.

The Smith-Connoally Act was passed, which allowed the government to seize industries threated by strikes.  It went into law over President Roosevelt's veto.

 No. 21 Squadron RAF Ventura attacking IJmuiden, February 1943.

A Ventura AJ186 crashed in Summerville, Nova Scotia, killing P/O John C. Loucks, air gunner, Bracebridge, Ont., P/O George W. Cowie, pilot, Wellington, New Zealand., P/O Clifford A. Griffiths, navigator, Auckland, New Zealand., Sgt. Arthur Cornelius Mulcahy, wireless air gunner, Sydney, Australia.

The men were undergoing training.  A memorial service will be held for them today in Summerville.

Classified as a medium bomber, the Ventura is one of the numerous Allied warbirds that are now basically forgotten, in spite of having received widespread use.  It was an adaptation of a civilian airliner.

Sarah Sundin notes, on her blog:

Today in World War II History—June 25, 1943: 80 Years Ago—June 25, 1943: Bob Hope begins his first major USO tour; he will spend 11 weeks touring England, North Africa, and Sicily.

Ft. Bragg renamed Ft. Liberty

 

This one leaves me wondering. Surely somebody could have been found to honor in place of Confederate General Braxton Bragg for this North Carolina post?

The post was renamed yesterday.

Bragg was a West Point graduate from North Carolina who had a career in the U.S. Army as an artilleryman, a branch that generally went to those graduating in the upper ends of their class.  His career was mixed as a Confederate general, many would say poor, and he was ultimately relegated to advisory positions after the middle of the war.  He died in 1876 at age 59, walking down a sidewalk in Galveston, Texas.  His famously argumentative personality meant that after the war he occupied a string of occupations from which he resigned.

He'd been an opponent of succession personally.

Ft. Benning renamed Ft. Moore.

 

This will be the first in a series of such name changes.

Ft. Benning was named for Henry L. Benning, a Georgia lawyer who had served as a Confederate General during the Civil War.  Benning was a lifelong Georgia resident who died in the state at age 61 in 1875.  He was an ardent secessionist and opponent of emancipation, who nonetheless had the fort and a Liberty Ship named for him.

Lt. Gen. Hal Moore was a legendary Vietnam War commander who served as the first air cavalry commander in the war.    Julia Moore was his wife, who was born of a military family, and who is closely associated with supporting the family members of the unit when it was deployed.  Their relationship is portrayed in the film version of the general's book, We Were Soldiers Once, And Young.

The forst was renamed yesterday.

Governor Gordon Orders Flags Be Flown at Half-Staff Statewide on Thursday, February 23 in Honor of Wyoming Sailor Killed at Pearl Harbor

 

Governor Gordon Orders Flags Be Flown at Half-Staff Statewide on  Thursday, February 23 in Honor of Wyoming Sailor Killed at Pearl Harbor

 

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Governor Mark Gordon has ordered both the U.S. and State of Wyoming flag be flown at half-staff statewide on Thursday, February 23, 2023 in honor and memory of World War II veteran Herman Schmidt from Sheridan.

Schmidt, a U.S. Navy Gunner’s Mate Third Class, served on the U.S.S. Oklahoma and was killed in action during the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Schmidt’s remains were recently identified through DNA testing and dental records. Schmidt  was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon, a Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Service Medal (with Fleet Clasp), the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (with Bronze Star), the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal. He will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery on February 23. 

--END--

Lex Anteinternet: Sunday, November 7, 1943. The heroism of Sgt. Thomas

Lex Anteinternet: Sunday, November 7, 1943. The heroism of Sgt. Tho...: 

Sunday, November 7, 1943. The heroism of Sgt. Thomas, Shoes rationed.

Sgt. Herbert J. Thomas.

Marine Corps Sgt Herbert J. Thomas displayed heroism on Bougainville that would lead to him being posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

SERGEANT HERBERT J. THOMAS

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE

for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the Third Marines, Third Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces during the battle at the Koromokina River, Bougainville Island, Solomon Islands, on November 7, 1943. Although several of his men were struck by enemy bullets as he led his squad through dense jungle undergrowth in the face of severe hostile machine gun fire, Sergeant Thomas and his group fearlessly pressed forward into the center of the Japanese position and destroyed the crews of two machine guns by accurate rifle fire and grenades. Discovering a third gun more difficult to approach, he carefully placed his men closely around him in strategic positions from which they were to charge after he had thrown a grenade into the emplacement. When the grenade struck vines and fell back into the midst of the group, Sergeant Thomas deliberately flung himself upon it to smother the explosion, valiantly sacrificing his life for his comrades. Inspired by his selfless action, his men unhesitatingly charged the enemy machine gun and, with fierce determination, killed the crew and several other nearby defenders. The splendid initiative and extremely heroic conduct of Sergeant Thomas in carrying out his prompt decision with full knowledge of his fate reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

The 25-year-old Thomas had first served, in the war, in the United Stated Army Air Corps before transferring to the Marine Corps.

According to Sarah Sundin's blog, on this day in 1943 shoe rationing commenced in the US.  She has an article about it here:

Make It Do – Shoe Rationing in World War II

It's a really interesting article.

The rationing move was announced suddenly, and limited Americans to three pairs of new shoes per year.  I'm sure I don't buy a new pair of shoes most years, which makes this limit interesting in context.

The Red Army captured Fastiv near Kyiv.

The Detroit Lions and the New York Giants played a scoreless tie game, the last such game in NFL history.

Lex Anteinternet: Sunday, February 7, 1943. The sacrifice of Howard W. Gilmore.

Lex Anteinternet: Sunday, February 7, 1943. The sacrifice of Howard...:

Sunday, February 7, 1943. The sacrifice of Howard W. Gilmore, Japanese complete Operation Ke, Hitler rallies his followers.

Howard W. Gilmore, age 40, commander of the USS Growler, ordered the submarine to submerge even though he was too wounded to escape down the hatch, thereby allowing the boat to escape, and causing his drowning.

He was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor.

The Japanese successfully completed Operation Ke, the withdrawal of 10,000 Japanese troops from Guadalcanal.  Deception was a key part of the operation, causing the U.S. to believe that the Japanese were reinforcing the island.

Hitler gave a rousing speech to German officials and high ranking Nazis at his headquarters, successfully reassuring them that Germany would win World War Two.  During the speech, according to notes taken at the time, he stated "„Entweder wir werden Herr über Europa, oder wir erleben eine komplette Liquidierung und Vernichtung“, or "Either we will be the master of Europe, or we will experience a complete liquidation and extermination,", which likely seemed impossible to the audience, who were also seeking reassurance.  He also promised total war against the remaining Jewish population within his control.

Lex Anteinternet: Wednesday, February 3, 1943. The Chaplains Fox, ...

Lex Anteinternet: Wednesday, February 3, 1943. The Chaplains Fox, ...:

Wednesday, February 3, 1943. The Chaplains Fox, Poling, and Goode.

The transport ship SS Dorchester was sunk by the U233 off of Greenland.  605 of the 904 men on board died in the attack, including chaplains Methodist minister George L. Fox, Reformed Church in America minister Clark V. Poling, Roman Catholic Priest John P. Washington, and Rabbi Alexander D. Goode.

They gave up their life jackets to others and went down with the ship, arms linked, praying, and singing hymns.

The chaplains are remembered in a stained-glass window in the Episcopal National Cathedral.

Survivors were rescued by the Coast Guard cutters Escanaba and Comanche, with the Escanaba using rescue swimmers for the first time.

The U-265 was sunk by a RAF B-17 in the Atlantic.

German radio informed the German people of the defeat at Stalingrad in a special radio announcement, causing widespread German public consternation.  A secret poll conducted thereafter revealed that hte Germans wondered why troops had not been evacuated from the city and why the war situation had been reported as secure only a few months prior.

Wyoming Catholic Cowboys - raw and real: Pearl Harbor

Wyoming Catholic Cowboys - raw and real: Pearl Harbor: On Monday we took a pilgrimage to the national memorial at Pearl Harbor. It was a sobering yet inspiring experience.  This anchor is off of ...

Lex Anteinternet: January 27, 1973. The Paris Peace Accords Signed a...

Lex Anteinternet: January 27, 1973. The Paris Peace Accords Signed a...: 

January 27, 1973. The Paris Peace Accords Signed and last combat casualty sustained.

The following agreements were signed on this day in Paris, between the warring parties in Vietnam.

"Protocol Concerning the Cease-Fire in South Vietnam and the Joint Military Commission"

"Protocol Concerning the Return of Captured Military Personnel and Foreign Civilians and the Captured and Detained Vietnamese Civilian Personnel"

"Protocol Concerning the International Commission of Control and Supervision "

"Protocol Concerning the Removal, Permanent Deactivation, or Destruction of Mines in the Territorial Waters, Ports, Harbors, and Waterways of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam"

The agreements paved the way for the United States to exit Vietnam under the fiction that "peace with honor" had been brought to South Vietnam.  In reality, the fighting never fully stopped and the Nixon Administration expected South Vietnam to fall.  The South was pressured into signing the agreement.

By this point in the war, the US had largely withdrawn its combat troops from Vietnam.  The final ones would be withdrawn in March, by which time it was obvious that the war was continuing on.  As a practical matter, disciplinary problems in the US military were, by that point, so severe, that the Army was close to becoming incapable of engaging in combat operations.  To this extent, the North Vietnamese had truly defeated the US in the ground war, although US air cover remained potent up until the ceasefire took place.

On this day, U.S. Army Col. William Nolde was killed by Communist artillery fire. He is generally regarded as the last American combat casualty of the Vietnam War, although Marines Charles McMahon and Darwin Lee Judge were killed by a North Vietnamese rocket attack on April 29, 1975, just before Saigon fell.  The distinction, if there is one, is that Nolde was assigned to a combat command. 

Nolde had been a Korean War conscript, and stayed in the Army thereafter, becoming an officer.  His first tour of duty was in 1965.

Nolde had been a professor of military science at Central Michigan University before being conscripted, so he had the somewhat peculiar experience of being a university professor on military matters before being an enlisted man in the Korean War, and an officer in the Vietnam War.  A scholarship at Central Michigan was established in his memory.

Lex Anteinternet: The 2023 Wyoming Legislative Session. The Legislat...

Lex Anteinternet: The 2023 Wyoming Legislative Session. The Legislat...: A bill commemorating the 75th anniversary of the United States Air Force has been introduced.  It reads:

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. SJ0005

Air Force 75th Anniversary.

Sponsored by: Senator(s) Boner, Furphy, Nethercott and Pappas and Representative(s) Brown, Locke, Olsen and Styvar

A JOINT RESOLUTION

for

A JOINT RESOLUTION to recognize and congratulate the United States Air Force on the 75th anniversary of its founding.

WHEREAS, the United States Air Force was founded in 1947 and has had a continuous and active presence in Wyoming since that time; and

WHEREAS, The United States Air Force's heritage in Wyoming pre-dates the Air Force founding as a separate military branch and includes the significant training mission of strategic bomber crews at Casper Army Airfield during World War II; and

WHEREAS, Francis E. Warren Air Force Base is the oldest continuously active Air Force base in the nation; and

WHEREAS, Francis E. Warren Air Force Base has played a vital role in the strategic defense of the United States and its allies by maintaining the first fully operational Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), the Atlas D, in 1959; and

WHEREAS, Francis E. Warren Air Force Base is home to the 90th Missile Wing, one of three active missile wings currently operating the Minuteman III ICBM and the headquarters of 20th Air Force, which commands all three (3) missile wings; and

WHEREAS, the 90th Missile wing is the only military unit to operate the Peacekeeper ICBM, the most advanced ballistic missile fielded to date which was deployed exclusively in Wyoming; and

WHEREAS, the 90th Missile Wing will continue to play a vital role in the strategic defense of the United States now and into the future and be the first unit to deploy the new Sentinel ICBM; and

WHEREAS, the University of Wyoming has a strong history of supporting the United States Air Force by establishing Air Force ROTC Detachment 940 in 1952 and counting Samuel C. Phillips, the leader of the Air Force's Minuteman ICBM program, as an alumni; and

WHEREAS, the Wyoming Air National Guard has continuously supported our state and nation since 1946; and

WHEREAS, the Wyoming Air National Guard became part of the Air Force in 1947 and ever since has honorably, ably and faithfully been the "Sword and Shield" for our state and nation; and

WHEREAS, the Wyoming Air National Guard, as the Sword, has played a vital role in guarding the United States and defending freedom in nearly every major conflict and contingency by repeatedly answering the nation's call in places such as Korea, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Iraq and around the world; and

WHEREAS, the Wyoming Air National Guard, as the Shield, has fought fires on the ground and in the air in Wyoming and throughout the West, mitigated flooding in Saratoga, Fremont county and elsewhere, and most recently provided desperately needed manpower for medical facilities throughout the state during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic; and

WHEREAS, the State of Wyoming is dedicated to memorializing the story of the Air Force through the Wyoming Veterans Museum and Quebec 01 Missile Alert Facility State Historic Site.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING:

Section 1.

(a)  The State of Wyoming commends the United States Air Force on its 75th anniversary.

(b)  The state of Wyoming acknowledges the strong historic relationship between the United States Air Force and the State.

(c)  The State of Wyoming recognizes the significant service that the United States Air Force currently provides in protecting our vital state and national interests.

(d)  The state of Wyoming is determined to continue the strong partnership between the State and the United States Air Force.

Section 2.  That the Secretary of State of Wyoming transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, to the Wyoming Congressional Delegation, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Air Force, the Commander of the 90th Missile Wing, 20th Air Force and the Commander of the Air Force ROTC Detachment 940.

Today In Wyoming's History: A Bill to Recognize the Service of Lester C. Hunt

Today In Wyoming's History: A Bill to Recognize the Service of Lester C. Hunt: 

A Bill to Recognize the Service of Lester C. Hunt

A bill has been introduced in the legislature to recognize former Governor and Senator Lester Hunt.  Given Dr. Hunt's historic place in Wyoming, and national, history, it's worth visiting the topic here.

The bill states:

2023

State of Wyoming

23LSO-0301

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. SJ0002

Recognizing the service of Lester C. Hunt.

Sponsored by: Senator(s) Case and Rothfuss and Representative(s) Stith and Yin

A JOINT RESOLUTION

for

A JOINT RESOLUTION recognizing United States Senator and Wyoming Governor and Secretary of State Lester Calloway Hunt as a consummate model to public servants for his distinguished career, his commendable civility and courage and his service to Wyoming and the United States of America.

WHEREAS, after first coming to Wyoming as a recruit to play semi-professional baseball for a Lander team, Lester C. Hunt moved permanently to Wyoming to start his family and dental practice after working full-time on the railroad to fund his attendance at dental school; and

WHEREAS, Lester C. Hunt served actively during World War I as a First Lieutenant in the United States Army Dental Corps from 1917 to 1919 and as a Major in the Army Reserve from 1919 to 1954; and

WHEREAS, Lester C. Hunt started his distinguished career in public service by serving in the Wyoming House of Representatives, as a Representative from Fremont County, from 1933 to 1934; and

WHEREAS, Lester C. Hunt served as Wyoming's Secretary of State from 1935 to 1943 where among his many accomplishments were obtaining a copyright to preserve the mark of the Bucking Horse and Rider and developing and implementing plans for the Bucking Horse and Rider license plate first issued in 1936; and

WHEREAS, Lester C. Hunt became the first person to serve for two consecutive terms as Governor of Wyoming, holding office during and after World War II. Among Governor Hunt's many accomplishments in addition to managing wartime concerns, he oversaw the creation of a pension system for teachers and advocated for a pension system for state employees as well as expanded systems of health benefits; and

WHEREAS, Lester C. Hunt served as Wyoming's accomplished junior United States Senator from 1949 until his untimely death by suicide, June 19, 1954; and

WHEREAS, Lester C. Hunt supported a number of federal social programs and advocated for federal support of low-cost health and dental insurance policies. He also supported a variety of programs proposed by the Eisenhower administration following the Republican landslide in the 1952 elections, including the abolition of racial segregation in the District of Columbia and the expansion of Social Security; and

WHEREAS, Lester C. Hunt served on Congressional committees including the Senate Armed Services Committee, a special Senate committee investigating war crimes and the Special Committee on Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce; and

WHEREAS, through Senate hearings, Lester C. Hunt was introduced to the bullying and false accusation tactics of Senator Eugene Joseph McCarthy and followers of the charismatic McCarthy, where many considered McCarthy a hero and the people who knew better stayed silent and attempted to stay on his good side; and

WHEREAS, Lester C. Hunt became a victim of this extremely polarized era in public thinking that hurt our nation and ruined the lives of many who found themselves on the other side of the boisterous "majority." During this time, Senator Hunt was a brave critic of the excesses of the McCarthyism era, even introducing legislation allowing private citizens to sue members of Congress who libeled them; and

WHEREAS, Lester C. Hunt endured threats and intimidation, to which his untimely death can be directly attributed, during this dark and harsh period of our nation's political journey characterized by incivility, irrational political dogma and unfounded beliefs; and

WHEREAS, while Lester C. Hunt was cruelly harmed by this movement, thousands of others also had their lives shattered when they were blacklisted by false accusations without credible evidence. Anyone who challenged the methods employed by the McCarthyists was labeled a communist sympathizer in a widespread chilling of free speech; and

WHEREAS, Lester C. Hunt was a victim of blackmail whereby his opponents used despicable means to obtain control of a deeply divided United States Senate; and

WHEREAS, Lester C. Hunt remained true to Wyoming and to our nation but succumbed to the overwhelming pressure and took his own life, adding to the tragic legacy of Wyoming's suicide prominence; and

WHEREAS, in 1954, within a few months after Lester C. Hunt's suicide, the Senate voted to censure Joseph McCarthy and our nation began to heal; and

WHEREAS, former Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson said decades later that what happened to Lester C. Hunt "passed all boundaries of decency and exposed an evil side of politics;" and

WHEREAS, Wyoming's Lester C. Hunt with decency and courage contributed to the survival and preservation of a principled system of participatory government that has carried this nation through the darkest of times.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING:

Section 1.  That the members of the Wyoming Legislature commit to respect each member and support our democracy and the right of every citizen to be heard and respected. With this resolution, the Wyoming Legislature remembers and joins with the people of Wyoming and all our nation to rededicate ourselves to democracy, civility, decency and truth.

Section 2.  That the members of the Wyoming Legislature commit to work with those with whom we disagree and to strive for pragmatic problem-solving.

Section 3.  That the members of the Wyoming Legislature commit to be ever vigilant to do all they can to prevent suicide and to be diligent in battling against injustices, inequities, discriminative conditions and intolerant practices that can lead to suicide.

Section 4.  That the Secretary of State of Wyoming transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress and to the Wyoming Congressional Delegation.

For more on Hunt:

Baseball, Politics, Triumph and Tragedy: The Career of Lester Hunt

We have discussed Hunt here:

1942.  Lester Hunt, DDS, the sitting Wyoming Secretary of State and a Democrat narrowly defeated Governor Nels H. Smith.

Lester C. Hunt.

Hunt would serve as Governor for two terms before going on to becoming Wyoming's Senator.  He killed himself in 1954 after Washington, D. C. police picked up his son in 1953 for soliciting a male prostitute.  The scandal was kept quiet for a while, but political opponents threatened to use it against him as a threat to keep him from engaging in a 1954 bid for office.

In the Senate, Hunt had been an opponent of Joe McCarthy.

It's really interesting that this bill comes up now.

I didn't go into the story in depth, but as noted, Senator Hunt was an opponent of McCarthy and, obviously, tragically involved in a story that he couldn't overcome.

Hunt was a dentist by profession, and entered politics, first becoming, at a state level, the Wyoming Secretary of State.  He was the elected a Democratic Governor, back in the day when Wyoming had a functioning Democratic Party and the state wasn't a one party state.  He later became Wyoming's Senator.

In June 1953, his son, who was attending the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he was the student body president, was picked up for solicitation of am ale prostitute.  Normally this was just passed off by the police if it was a first offense, but the arrest became known to Republican Senators, who threatened to break the information if Hunt didn't resign from office.  If that had happened, the Wyoming legislature would have appointed a Republican successor.  

Hunt refused, his son was sentenced and paid the fine, and the Washington Post picked up the story.

Hunt decided to run for reelection anyhow, and the news story received little attention.  Republicans again threatened to use it against him, although the Eisenhower Administration, seeing what was going on, tried to offer him a way out by offering him a position on the U.S. Tariff Commission.  On June 8, 1954, following a medical examination, he declared he was bowing out of elective offices entirely.  On June 19, he shot himself in his Senate office.

Following this, journalist Drew Pearson wrote about the drama and how the Republicans had threatened Hunt.  Pearson noted, however:

Two weeks ago he went to the hospital for a physical check and announced that he would not run again. It was no secret that he had been having kidney trouble for some time, but I am sure that on top of this, Lester Hunt, a much more sensitive soul than his colleagues realized, just could not bear the thought of having his son's misfortunes become the subject of whispers in his re-election campaign.

In private, however, Pearson indicated that Hunt, whom he had been in contact with, had no physical concerns at the time of his suicide.

What the resolution states is completely true.  If there's a black mark against Dr. Hunt in his public story, it would be that he was less than enthusiastic about the presence of Japanese American internees in the state during World War Two and his statements at the time would be hard not to view as racist, although they are not uniformly so.  In our modern era, we tend not to cut anyone any slack at all for transgressions of this type, but perhaps to some degree we should.  Overall, Hunt's service as Secretary of State, Governor, World War One serviceman, and Senator are praiseworthy and no matter what a person might think of McCarthy, his stand at the time was certainly praiseworthy.  The actions by the GOP in persecuting him were vile.

Which is why I suspect that this bill will go nowhere.  In Wyoming of 2023, there's almost no room in the state to praise a Democratic politician, and chances are that anyone supporting a bill condemning McCarthyism will receive pretty stout criticism as well.