PRINTER'S NO. 4360
No. 888 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY KESSLER, COX, READSHAW, BAKER, BEAR, BELFANTI,
BRENNAN, BROOKS, CALTAGIRONE, CUTLER, DONATUCCI, FABRIZIO,
GEIST, GEORGE, GIBBONS, GODSHALL, GRUCELA, HARPER, HESS,
HORNAMAN, JAMES, M. KELLER, KENNEY, LENTZ, MAHER, MAJOR,
MANDERINO, MANN, McCALL, McGEEHAN, McILHATTAN, MENSCH,
MILLARD, MUSTIO, NAILOR, O'NEILL, PALLONE, PASHINSKI, PAYNE,
PICKETT, PYLE, QUINN, RAMALEY, REICHLEY, ROAE, ROSS, SAINATO,
SAMUELSON, SANTONI, SAYLOR, SCHRODER, SHIMKUS, SIPTROTH,
K. SMITH, SONNEY, STABACK, SWANGER, VULAKOVICH, J. WHITE,
ARGALL, HELM, HICKERNELL, KORTZ, MARSHALL, SURRA, FAIRCHILD,
R. MILLER, MICOZZIE, MOYER, ROEBUCK AND TRUE,
SEPTEMBER 18, 2008
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
SEPTEMBER 18, 2008
A RESOLUTION
1 Honoring Gold Star Mother Mollie Snyder of Berks County.
2 WHEREAS, A Gold Star Mother from Pennsylvania, Mollie Snyder,
3 has been selected as a model for a relief that is part of the
4 monument honoring Gold Star Mothers from all armed services in
5 all wars in which the United States has engaged since World War
6 I; and
7 WHEREAS, Mrs. Snyder, of Berks County, is the mother of Pfc.
8 Walter H. Snyder, Jr., deceased, who served in the Korean
9 Conflict and died from wounds suffered during action; and
10 WHEREAS, Mrs. Snyder served as president of the Berks County
11 Chapter of Gold Star Mothers from the late 1950s until May 2008
12 and, upon her retirement, was made Honorary President of the
1 chapter at that time; and
2 WHEREAS, Mrs. Snyder, 99, is honored that sculptor Andrew L.
3 Chernak has chosen Walter and her as models for a bronze relief
4 that will be mounted along the pathway to the centerpiece statue
5 at the proposed Gold Star Mothers Monument in Washington, D.C.;
6 and
7 WHEREAS, The artist, who met Mrs. Snyder in 2004 at a Gold
8 Star Mothers function, selected her for her dignity and inner
9 strength; and
10 WHEREAS, Not only is she the first Gold Star Mother to be
11 chosen by the artist but the bronze relief of her son and her is
12 the first to be completed; and
13 WHEREAS, The bronze relief of Mollie and her son will be
14 displayed at the Gold Star Mothers banquet on Saturday,
15 September 27, 2008, in Washington DC as part of the events of
16 Gold Star Mothers Weekend; and
17 WHEREAS, The monument itself is expected to be completed in
18 three years; and
19 WHEREAS, Gold Star Mothers is a term that arose during World
20 War I that embraces those mothers whose sons or daughters died
21 from injury or illness while serving in the armed forces of the
22 United States during World War I; World War II; the Korean
23 Conflict; the Vietnam War; the war in the Balkans; the peacetime
24 attack on the USS Cole by terrorists; and the conflicts in the
25 Middle East, including Operation Desert Storm, Operation
26 Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom; and
27 WHEREAS, American Gold Star Mother, Inc., is the official
28 national service organization of Gold Star Mothers that was
29 begun in 1928 and continues because of the bond of mutual love,
30 sympathy and support of the many loyal, capable and patriotic
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1 mothers who, while sharing their grief and their pride, have
2 channeled their time, efforts and gifts to lessening the pain of
3 others by honoring our deceased servicemen and servicewomen,
4 assisting our veterans, supporting our nation and helping each
5 other to heal; and
6 WHEREAS, In 1936, President Franklin Roosevelt recognized
7 Gold Star Mothers for their strength and inspiration to this
8 country; and
9 WHEREAS, Mrs. Snyder, who volunteers at the local veterans
10 hospital and who rides annually in the Berks County "Ride for
11 Freedom" motorcycle rally, hopes to go to the unveiling of the
12 bronze relief at the monument, but her greater hope is that the
13 nations of the world learn to live in peace so that there will
14 be no more Gold Star Mothers; and
15 WHEREAS, It is fitting to pay tribute to this amazing mother
16 who nobly represents Gold Star Mothers throughout Pennsylvania
17 and our nation; therefore be it
18 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor Gold Star
19 Mother Mollie Snyder of Berks County.
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