Resolutions Passed at the 

2002 National Convention

Inspection of Cargo Shipping Containers

WHEREAS at least two terrorists of the suicidal hijacking and destruction of the World Trade Center had made many trips to Hamburg, Germany, indicating that cell chief resides in that city—the port of which is a container-shipping center and a link in the world's ocean transport system; and 

WHEREAS, the cargo container, already near inspection-free because of its millions of numbers was made more vulnerable to clandestine uses by the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998, with its stated purpose "to effectively replace part of the old-style 1984 Shipping Act, and pave the way for what authorities refer to as a non-discriminatory regulatory process for the common carriage of goods by sea to and from the U.S. coast, with minimum amount of intervention by government”; and 

WHEREAS, the source of a nuclear bomb detonated in any of the thousands of containers entering this country daily most likely would not be traceable, making it a delivery system of choice for terrorists (or countries thinking terrorists would be blamed); 

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Military Order of the World Wars, in convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, July 28-August 2, 2002, commends the United States Customs Service for its initiative in inspecting cargo containers in foreign ports and asks the President and Congress to continue backing this action fully and to seek establishment as soon as possible of a system whereby all cargo containers destined for entry into the United States are inspected for weapons of mass destruction at ports of shipment. 

Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag 

WHEREAS the founders of our great and beloved country in their efforts to find common ground for uniting people of various backgrounds and circumstances sensed this in the ideal all shared in their various but steadfast beliefs in “Divine Providence”; and 

WHEREAS, in the Declaration of Independence, reference was made to their “Creator” and “Sacred Honor,” and they appealed to the “Supreme Judge of the World,” and careful later to distinguish between such acknowledgements and the establishment of any religion by law as a part of government, as was the case with England; and 

WHEREAS, the distinction between a unifying recognition of a supreme being, in all of America’s history reverently referred to as “God,” and an establishment of a state religion, as made clear in the First Amendment to the Constitution, has been voided by a Federal Appeals Court’s ruling that a public school-led Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag is unconstitutional, in that it includes the word “God”—a word important to the Pledge’s purpose of promoting unity to love of country; 

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Military Order of the World Wars, in convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, July 28-August 2, 2002, respectfully petitions the President and Congress to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the lower court’s decision, thus restoring the complete unifying effect to the Pledge of allegiance to the Flag. 

Justice for U.S. Prisoners 

WHEREAS during World War II, many Members of the United States Armed Forces who survived the Bataan Death March were, while prisoners of war in Japan, forced to do hard labor for privately owned business enterprises for no compensation and under inhumane conditions; and 

WHEREAS, out of respect for the Japanese people and their post-war government, and the United States government has maintained a strict interpretation of a provision in the peace treaty shielding the Japanese government from damage claims for misdeeds of its predecessor, thus rendering former members of the U.S. Armed Forces unable to seek redress of terrible wrongs; and 

WHEREAS, there is a movement in Congress to remedy this unjust treatment of this exemplary segment of those World War II fellow Americans, who, with their Allies, gave so much to preserve our freedoms while restoring them to those they fought, by enacting into law an interpretation of the 1951 Peace Treaty that will allow them to seek compensation from the privately owned business enterprises that took so much from them without pay or even a belated thank-you.

 NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Military Order of the World Wars, in convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, July 28-August 2, 2002, humbly expresses its regard and appreciation to those whose honorable service to our country went so far beyond the normal call of duty, and respectfully petitions the House to pass, the Senate to adopt, and the President to sign H.R. 1198.

Support for Homeland Security and the War on Terrorism

WHEREAS The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on American soil have made Americans painfully aware of their vulnerability to violence from international terrorism; and 

WHEREAS, these terrorists were able to carry out their attacks because emphasis by the U.S. government on homeland security and intelligence collection has been inadequate and incapable of preventing such attacks; and 

WHEREAS, On September 20, 2001, President Bush announced the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security, a new cabinet position designed to be the single source of authority, at the highest levels, for all homeland defense programs and policies.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Military Order of the World Wars, in convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, July 28-August 2, 2002, that we pledge our support to the war on terrorism and urge the United States government to arm the Office of Homeland Security with the legal powers and fiduciary tools to coordinate the many agencies and offices with the homeland security responsibilities into a credible deterrent to terrorism.