WHEREAS, the State of Alaska celebrates Juneteenth, a blending of “June” and “nineteenth,” on the third Saturday in June, which is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States; and WHEREAS, this commemoration dates back to June 19, 1865 when Union Soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, arrived in […]

WHEREAS, on this day, 75 years ago, in the midst of World War II, one of the most important battles in history commenced; and WHEREAS, more than 160,000 brave soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force invaded the 50-mile stretch of the heavily-fortified French Normandy coastline, to fight against Nazism and oppression; and […]

WHEREAS, although both men and women worked together to build our great Nation, the fundamental right to have a voice in government was not allotted to women in the United States for over a century; and WHEREAS, the decades-long fight for women’s right to vote began on July 19, 1848 with the Seneca Falls Convention, […]

WHEREAS, on June 2, 1942, World War II arrived in Alaska. On this fateful day, six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dutch Harbor on Amaknak Island was bombed by Japanese “Kate” bombers from two of their aircraft carriers; and WHEREAS, the pilots expected little resistance, but a secret message warning of the attack […]

WHEREAS, the Anchorage Lions Club was established on June 6, 1944, and is the longest serving Lions Club in the State of Alaska; and WHEREAS, in the 1950s, the Anchorage Lions Club coordinated the delivery of the first ambulance to Anchorage. The “Big Red Wagon” was delivered from Mobile, Alabama to Seattle, Washington where it […]