Alaska Territorial Guard
Floor Speech
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, on January 22 of this year, I came to the floor to inform our colleagues in the Senate about a decision by the Department of Defense that service in the Alaska Territorial Guard during World War II would not be regarded as Active-Duty service for purposes of military retirement. That decision reversed the position that had previously been taken by the Army that this service did count toward military retirement.
As a consequence, 26 elderly Alaskans, descendants of the aboriginal people who originally inhabited Alaska, 26 Native people, predominantly Eskimo, were about to see a substantial reduction in their military pensions, this all happening in the dead of an Alaska winter when we were paying extraordinarily high fuel prices.
At that time when I came to the floor, I wondered out loud what kind of government, what kind of ``Cruella'' would cut the pensions of 26 elderly people who stood up to defend Alaska and our Nation during World War II with absolutely no prior warning, no advanced notice? The answer was our government, on advice of the lawyers.
In the Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2001, Congress recognized service in the Alaska Territorial Guard as Active-Duty service. Section 8147 required the Secretary of Defense to issue discharge certificates to each member of the Alaska Territorial Guard under honorable conditions if the Secretary determined the nature and duration of the service of the individual so warrants. The military first concluded that included retirement benefits and then abruptly reversed that position with immediate effect.
As Lieutenant Colonel McNorton explained in a story carried by the Associated Press, section 8147 applies to military benefits, including health benefits, but it does not make members of the Territorial Guard eligible for retirement pay.
I must emphasize, at this point, that no Alaska Territorial guardsman claimed a military pension solely because of his service in the Territorial Guard. The Alaska Territorial Guard was created in 1942 and disbanded in 1947. Many members of the ``Tundra Army,'' as some called it, continued to serve in the Alaska National Guard and other units of the military. That service, combined with service in the Territorial Guard, forms the basis for the claim.
I have come to learn that when you use the term ``Cruella'' on the Senate floor, people sit up and take notice. My remarks were telegraphed across the blogosphere and national media outlets. The response that came from across the country to the plight of the 26 elderly Alaskans was truly heartwarming. Across the ideological spectrum, the response from the American people was outrage over this situation. The high level of national interest in the plight of these Alaska Territorial Guard members was not lost on the senior leaders of the Army. The Secretary of the Army rose to the occasion. He reached into his emergency and extraordinary expense fund--the triple E fund--to continue the payments to those elders for 60 days, in the hope that Congress would have an opportunity to address the issue by then.
My colleague, Senator Begich, and I promptly introduced legislation to correct that situation, but the legislation was not considered before the 60 days of temporary payments ran out. The Alaska Legislature stepped up to fill the gap, and they enacted legislation to continue the payments from State funds until February of 2010 in order to, again, give Congress the time to fix the problem.
With the support of our colleagues--and I especially appreciate the leadership and support from Senator Levin, my colleague and friend Senator Inouye, and Senator Cochran--language to clarify that service in the Alaska Territorial Guard counts toward eligibility for retirement pay that was included in that 2010 Defense authorization bill----
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator's time has expired.
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, it was my understanding that I was to have 15 minutes under this time agreement; is that correct?
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Chair is aware of no such agreement, and the time for the Republican side has expired.
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, I do have additional comments I wish to make. I ask unanimous consent that I have 5 minutes to conclude these remarks, if that is acceptable.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, I also wish to recognize my friend and colleague, Senator McCain, who was there at the end to help us with this issue.
The people of Alaska thank our colleagues, Senator Inouye, Senator McCain, and so many others for the consideration that was given these Alaska Territorial guardsmen. Last Friday, we were disappointed to learn that some in the administration might not share our enthusiasm for putting this matter to bed and restoring the retirement benefits for the 26 elderly Alaska Native veterans.
The statement of administration position on the Defense appropriations bill contains two sentences that read as follows:
The administration objects to a new General Provision that would count as ``active duty'' service the time the Alaska Territorial Guard members served during World War II. This provision would establish a precedent of treating service performed by a State employee as active duty for purposes of the computation of retired pay.
The notion that restoring these benefits establishes a precedent of treating service performed by a State employee as active-duty service defies logic and it defies history. Not only is it inconsistent with the letter of Congress's finding in section 8147 of the 2001 Defense Appropriations Act that the service was indeed Federal service, it is inconsistent with the facts, and I believe it is inconsistent with the law.
When our Lieutenant Governor--retired LTG Craig Campbell--heard this, he remarked:
The administration doesn't understand what the territorial guard is. This was an initiative of the Federal Government. They provided a federal service.
General Campbell recently retired as Adjutant General of the Alaska National Guard, and he is absolutely correct on this.
The Alaska Territorial Guard was created back in 1942 to protect Alaska from invasion by the Japanese. The notion that Japan had an interest in Alaska was far from speculative, as we know. The Japanese bombed Dutch Harbor and landed in Attu and Kiska in the Aleutian Chain. Enemy submarines lurked in the Bering Sea.
The ATG was organized by U.S. Army MAJ Marvin Marston under the leadership of a territorial Governor who reported to Washington. These were Uncle Sam's men. All who served were volunteers. They were not State employees. It was organized in the name of the President of the United States, and it was armed by the U.S. Army. The operations of the units were inspected by the U.S. Army, and the unit was disbanded in 1947 by order of the U.S. Army. The unit was well known for its skill in protecting Alaska. These gentlemen were Native hunters and fishermen, but they knew the land better than any soldier that the army might have sent up from the lower 48. They kept watch over 5,000 miles of coastline for enemy vessels and submarines, shooting down Japanese balloon bombs, protecting the Lend-Lease Route between Alaska and Russia and recovering downed airmen. These were the core missions of the territorial guard.
It is very disappointing that 62 years after the Alaska Territorial Guard was disbanded the value of their service to our Nation and to our success in World War II has been drawn into question.
When I came to the floor on January 22 of this year, I gave the Defense Department the benefit of the doubt. I believe, as did General Campbell and his staff judge advocate, that the 2000 legislation entitled members of the ATG to all the military benefits merited by their service. The military at one time held that position, but then on January 22, they didn't. I called upon the Department of Defense to work with me, to work with Senator Begich, to make things right. The Alaska congressional delegation wrote to the President to enlist his personal support for this effort.
Nine years now have passed since Congress determined that service in the Alaska Territorial Guard during World War II was Federal service. Nine years have passed since the Secretary of Defense ordered that these brave members of the tundra army who remain alive are entitled to discharge certificates from the U.S. Army; 9 years since they were granted full Federal veterans benefits. I would suggest it is 9 years too late for the Defense Department to reopen the question of whether service in the ATG was Federal service. The Congress has answered this question with finality.
I mentioned that many Americans have registered their opinions on the Internet over the administration's position on territorial guard retirement benefits. Many think it is cruel to continue to deny these benefits. And many believe the administration's position denigrates the service of the Alaska Territorial Guard. Some have suggested the men who served deserve an apology. But one perceptive individual suggested, I doubt that President Obama actually made this decision or even knows about it.
So once again, I ask that President Obama personally support us in our quest to obtain justice for a few elderly Alaska Natives who once served our Nation with patriotism, with pride, and with distinction.
President Obama, show some heart, do the right thing, and support our efforts to restore military retirement benefits for these 26 individuals.
With that, Madam President, I yield the floor.
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