House Concurrent Resolution 47

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION PROVIDING OFFICIAL RECOGNITION OF THE MASSACRE AND POSTHUMOUS HONOR OF THE 11 AFRICAN-AMERICAN SOLDIERS OF THE 333RD FIELD ARTILLERY BATTALION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY, THREE OF WHOM WERE MISSISSIPPIANS, HISTORICALLY KNOWN AS THE "WERETH 11," WHO HAD BEEN CAPTURED IN WERETH, BELGIUM, DURING THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE ON DECEMBER 17, 1944.

WHEREAS, during the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium in December 1944, the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion, United States Army, an African-American unit, was among the units of the United States Army overrun in the initial German attack; and

WHEREAS, eleven soldiers, historically referred to as the "Wereth 11," from different batteries of the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion escaped capture and tried to return to the American lines; and

WHEREAS, the eleven soldiers were: Curtis Adams of South Carolina, Mager Bradley of Mississippi, George Davis, Jr., of Alabama, Thomas Forte of Mississippi, Robert Green of Georgia, James Leatherwood of Mississippi, Nathaniel Moss of Texas, George Motten of Texas, William Pritchett of Alabama, James Stewart of West Virginia, and Due Turner of Arkansas; and

WHEREAS, despite the bitter cold and snow, the soldiers walked 10 miles to the town of Wereth, Belgium, where they received shelter at the farmhouse of Mathias Langer, a resident of Wereth; and

WHEREAS, the eleven soldiers were captured by a German patrol composed of SS soldiers, who, after dark, marched the unarmed Americans to a nearby field and brutally massacred them; and

WHEREAS, in 1949, a subcommittee of the Committee on Armed Services of the United States Senate conducted an investigation in connection with massacres and other atrocities committed by German troops during the Battle of the Bulge; and

WHEREAS, the report of the subcommittee identified 12 locations at which American Prisoners of War, Belgian civilians, or both were murdered during the Battle of the Bulge; and

WHEREAS, the massacre of the 11 African-American soldiers of the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion in Wereth was omitted from the report, and the occurrence of this massacre remains unknown to the vast majority of Americans; and

WHEREAS, in 2004, a permanent monument was dedicated in Wereth to the 11 African-American soldiers of the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion who lost their lives in Wereth during the Battle of the Bulge to defeat fascism and defend freedom; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to commend the valor of the "Wereth 11" and call to the attention of the Mississippi citizenry and the entire citizenry of these United States the extent of the grave dehumanizing torture inflicted upon these individuals who became patriot martyrs with the ultimate sacrifice of their lives in fulfillment of their service to the United States and the world by upholding and defending the freedoms of democratic government in the concerted efforts of this nation and its allies to destroy the terroristic reign of Neo-Nazism:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby officially recognize the dedicated service and ultimate sacrifice on behalf of the United States of the 11 African-American soldiers of the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion of the United States Army, historically known as the "Wereth 11," who were massacred in Wereth, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge on December 17, 1944.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the State of Mississippi, gives special posthumous honor and tribute to the lives and legacies of the gallant service of those three individual soldiers from Mississippi, Mager Bradley, Thomas Forte and James Leatherwood, who served Mississippi and the United States with esteemed merit and distinction.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Mississippi Legislature urges and requests the Committee on Armed Services of the United States Senate to correct the omission in the 1949 report of its subcommittee and appropriately recognize the service, sacrifice and massacre of the "Wereth 11."

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to the Adjutant General of the Mississippi National Guard, the United States Secretary of Defense, the Committee on Armed Services of the United States Senate and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.