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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION |
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| INTRODUCED BY TALLMAN, PASHINSKI AND HELM, JUNE 8, 2011 |
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| INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, JUNE 8, 2011 |
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| A RESOLUTION |
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1 | Honoring the life of outstanding Pennsylvanian United States |
2 | Army Major General Gerald T. Sajer and extending condolences |
3 | to his family. |
4 | WHEREAS, United States Army Major General Gerald T. Sajer |
5 | died on May 14, 2011; and |
6 | WHEREAS, General Sajer was the Adjutant General of the |
7 | Pennsylvania National Guard from January 1987 through April |
8 | 1995, and as Adjutant General, he was responsible for command, |
9 | control and supervision of 24,000 soldiers and airmen of the |
10 | Army and Air National Guard in units of this Commonwealth and |
11 | for providing trained and equipped units capable of performing |
12 | their war-time missions and for providing military support to |
13 | civil authorities in responding to man-made and natural |
14 | disasters; and |
15 | WHEREAS, General Sajer was born in Milton on April 12, 1928, |
16 | and received his secondary education and graduated from Girard |
17 | College, a school for orphan boys, in Philadelphia in 1946; and |
18 | WHEREAS, He received his bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, |
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1 | from Tufts University in 1956 where he was selected for |
2 | membership in Phi Beta Kappa based on high academic standing and |
3 | received his law degree from Harvard University in 1959 and a |
4 | master's degree in public administration from Shippensburg |
5 | University in 1984; and |
6 | WHEREAS, General Sajer began his military career when he |
7 | enlisted in the Army as a rifleman in 1946, and, after basic |
8 | training, he was selected for the Officer Candidate School at |
9 | Fort Benning, Georgia, received his commission as a second |
10 | lieutenant in 1947 and attended the Engineer School at Fort |
11 | Belvoir, Virginia, where he completed the Engineer Associate |
12 | Officer Course in 1947; and |
13 | WHEREAS, General Sajer was assigned as a company officer in |
14 | engineer units in Korea and Japan from 1947 to 1950; and |
15 | WHEREAS, Following the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, |
16 | General Sajer attended Airborne School and Ranger Training at |
17 | Fort Benning, Georgia, in 1951 and served in Korea in 1952 |
18 | through 1953 as a Ranger Captain in intelligence collection |
19 | activities in support of the Eighth United States Army; and |
20 | WHEREAS, After his service in Korea, General Sajer left |
21 | active duty to attend college and law school and transitioned |
22 | into the United States Army Reserve; and |
23 | WHEREAS, He subsequently joined the Army National Guard in |
24 | 1959 as a captain in the 28th Infantry Division where he served |
25 | as the Assistant G3 Plans and Operations, division G3, |
26 | responsible for operational planning and execution and as Chief |
27 | of Staff, and in 1976, he was promoted to Brigadier General and |
28 | appointed as Assistant Division Commander (Maneuver) for the |
29 | 28th Infantry Division; and |
30 | WHEREAS, He was appointed as Adjutant General of the |
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1 | Commonwealth on January 20, 1987, by Governor Robert P. Casey |
2 | and promoted to Major General; and |
3 | WHEREAS, After Persian Gulf I, when Active, Guard and Reserve |
4 | units were being downsized, the Army proposed to cut the 15,000- |
5 | man 28th Infantry Division to a 3,500-man cadre, which General |
6 | Sajer vigorously opposed, successfully; and |
7 | WHEREAS, He then converted the 28th Infantry Division from a |
8 | light infantry to a modern heavy mechanized division, |
9 | accomplishing that transition within three years, and under |
10 | General Sajer's leadership, the Pennsylvania National Guard grew |
11 | to the greatest strength ever, 24,000, and was widely regarded |
12 | as the best Guard in the country; and |
13 | WHEREAS, While Adjutant General, General Sajer conceived and |
14 | constructed the first modern training buildings for the training |
15 | of officers and noncommissioned officers at Fort Indiantown Gap, |
16 | a $30 million project, and during his tenure, the Pennsylvania |
17 | National Guard was allotted three-quarters of all of the |
18 | National Guard's construction money and actively constructed |
19 | armories, veterans' homes and other facilities throughout this |
20 | Commonwealth; and |
21 | WHEREAS, General Sajer was responsible for the enactment of |
22 | landmark legislation, including the Education Assistance |
23 | Program, which gave Guardsmen tuition moneys for enlisting, and, |
24 | with the outbreak of the Persian Gulf War, legislation to |
25 | modernize the Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act to better protect |
26 | Guardsmen; and |
27 | WHEREAS, He created the legislation to construct the memorial |
28 | and amphitheater at the National Veterans Cemetery at Fort |
29 | Indiantown Gap and served as the Chairman of the Commissioning |
30 | Committee for the U.S.S. Pennsylvania, a Trident submarine; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, General Sajer was active with the military abroad, |
2 | forming a training partnership with the First Panzer Division of |
3 | the German Army and assisting in the development of the |
4 | Lithuanian military forces; and |
5 | WHEREAS, General Sajer spearheaded a major environmental |
6 | cleanup initiative at Cressona, Schuylkill County, to eliminate |
7 | the issues caused by tens of thousands of burning tires, for |
8 | which he was honored at the White House by President George H.W. |
9 | Bush for community excellence service; and |
10 | WHEREAS, General Sajer initiated a modern family support |
11 | program for the Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers and their |
12 | families, including a day-care center, a summer camp, a day camp |
13 | and an emergency relief program; and |
14 | WHEREAS, General Sajer's awards and decorations include the |
15 | Distinguished Service Medal, Soldier's Medal, Legion of Merit, |
16 | Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, American |
17 | Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, National Defense |
18 | Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, Army Forces Reserve Medal, |
19 | Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal, United Nations |
20 | Service Medal, Pennsylvania Distinguished Service Medal - Second |
21 | Award, General Thomas J. Stewart Medal, Pennsylvania Service |
22 | Ribbon and Parachute and Ranger Tabs; and |
23 | WHEREAS, Prior to assuming his position as Adjutant General, |
24 | General Sajer was an attorney in private practice with Stone & |
25 | Sajer in New Cumberland, focusing on civil litigation; and |
26 | WHEREAS, General Sajer was a member of the Pennsylvania Bar |
27 | Association, Cumberland County Bar, Phi Beta Kappa (Tufts |
28 | Chapter), National Guard Association of the United States and |
29 | Pennsylvania, Association of the United States Army, 28th |
30 | Infantry Division Heritage Association and Veterans of Foreign |
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1 | Wars, was a trustee of the Army War College Foundation and was a |
2 | member of the Boards of the First Regiment of Infantry |
3 | Association, of the Minuteman Institute of National Defense |
4 | Studies and Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church, |
5 | Abbottstown; and |
6 | WHEREAS, General Sajer retired from military service in March |
7 | 1996; and |
8 | WHEREAS, After his retirement, General Sajer resumed the |
9 | practice of law and remained active in military affairs, he |
10 | wrote several award-winning articles on the National Guard of |
11 | the United States and was regarded as an expert in the planning |
12 | and response to catastrophic events and homeland security; and |
13 | WHEREAS, General Sajer is survived by his wife, the former |
14 | Helen Leskanich, his children Marsha, Mark, Susan, Scott, Frank |
15 | and Peter, and 15 grandchildren; and |
16 | WHEREAS, In final tribute to General Sajer, Admiral Joe |
17 | Sestak, a former Congressman and 2010 Candidate for the United |
18 | States Senate from Pennsylvania, said, "I have rarely met as |
19 | principled a person in my political life as he was"; therefore |
20 | be it |
21 | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor the life of |
22 | outstanding Pennsylvanian, United States Army Major General |
23 | Gerald T. Sajer; and be it further |
24 | RESOLVED, That condolences be extended to his family; and be |
25 | it further |
26 | RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to Mrs. |
27 | Gerald T. Sajer, Hidden Horse Farm, 2665 Lake Meade Road, East |
28 | Berlin, PA 17316. |
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