House Resolution 100

(As Adopted by House)

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING MAJOR ROSS EVANS LISHEN ON THE OCCASION OF HIS 100TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION.

WHEREAS, Major Ross Evans Lishen, a former 45-year resident of Long Beach, Mississippi, born on March 19, 1913, in Cloverport, Kentucky, will celebrate the occasion of his 100th birthday March 19, 2013, with all the pomp and circumstance due a centenarian and World War II veteran; and

WHEREAS, raised by his grandmother in Louisville, Kentucky, after his mother's death in 1918, Major Lishen, whose faith in God was made manifest during his years as a choir boy in the Louisville Episcopal Cathedral of the Kentucky Diocese, having worked during the 1929 Great Depression, later joined the National Guard in 1932 as a Private in the United States Army, advancing to the rank of Staff Sergeant while training at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, from 1940-1941; and

WHEREAS, subsequent to his enlistment in the United States Armed Forces, Major Lishen was united in marriage to the former Louise Thompson, and their union produced two children, Ross and Myrna; and

WHEREAS, after the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, Major Lishen was deployed to Fiji in 1942 to undergo additional training to prepare for his first combat action in New Hebrides and Solomon Islands where he eventually participated in such historic battles as: the New Georgia Campaign, a series of battles of the Pacific campaign that was part of Operation Cartwheel, the Allied grand strategy in the South Pacific, fought from June 20, 1943, through August 25, 1943; the Bougainville Campaign (known as Operation Cherry Blossom), fought in the South Pacific to regain control of the island of Bougainville; the New Britain Campaign between December 1943 and the end of the war in August 1945, to contain Japanese forces concentrated in Rabaul, the capital of New Britain, which served as the major Japanese base for the New Guinea and Solomons campaigns; and the Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and code named Operation Watchtower, fought between August 7, 1942, and February 9, 1943, in the Pacific theatre, the first major offensive by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan; and

WHEREAS, he returned to stateside in 1943 to attend Washington and Lee University where he underwent additional Special Services Training for the United States Army before returning overseas in 1944 to the Philippines Islands conflict where he fought until his return to the United States in 1945, having attained the rank of Major in the United States Army; and

WHEREAS, he was a devoted husband for 39 years to the former Miriam Stevenson, until her passing, and father of Layne and Mark Lishen, Major Lishen attributes his longevity to his faith in God, and enjoys the love, adoration and support of his family and friends; and

WHEREAS, an active member of the Masonic Lodge since 1945, Major Lishen relocated to Long Beach, Mississippi, in 1958 where he was a prominent community pillar, and worked for the Veterans Administration Hospital in Gulfport from 1963 until his retirement in 1983; and

WHEREAS, an avid boater, fisherman, carpenter and handyman, Major Lishen remained viably active in those activities until his health conditions required a move from Long Beach in 2003 to Sanford, Florida, and ultimately in 2004 to Lynchburg, Virginia, where he resides in the Bentley Commons Retirement Community; and

WHEREAS, Major Lishen has seen the transformational changes of the United States of America, and has relied wholeheartedly on God as the driving force to sustain and power him through the circumstances, trials and triumphs of life, while sustained by his profound faith to lead an exemplary life, reflecting the love of Christ and imparting the values of self-assurance, perseverance, service and benevolence, obtained with his years of infinite wisdom, into the lives of all he has encountered along this journey; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to recognize and commend such outstanding individuals as Major Lishen, whose service to his nation, fellowman and international citizenry, and whose contributions to his Creator are exemplary trademarks of the life of a model man:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend and congratulate Major Ross Evans Lishen on the occasion of his 100th birthday, celebrating his life and longevity and extend most heartfelt wishes for continued health, love and happiness in the years to come.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Major Lishen and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.