00                      HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 23                                                                     
01 Proclaiming March 27, 2014, as Good Friday Earthquake Remembrance Day.                                                  
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03       WHEREAS, 50 years ago, on March 27, 1964, a 9.2 magnitude earthquake known as                                 
04 the Good Friday Earthquake rocked a 50,000 square-mile area of Southcentral Alaska; and                                 
05       WHEREAS the Good Friday Earthquake was the largest earthquake in the history of                                 
06 North America; and                                                                                                      
07       WHEREAS the Good Friday Earthquake caused a tragic loss of life, caused                                         
08 remarkable devastation, leveled entire communities, and endangered thousands of Alaskans;                               
09 and                                                                                                                     
10       WHEREAS Governor William A. Egan immediately activated the Alaska Army                                          
11 National Guard and the Alaska Air National Guard to deliver emergency supplies and medical                              
12 care to affected Southcentral communities; and                                                                          
13       WHEREAS firefighters, police officers, Alaska state troopers, members of the United                             
14 States Army Corps of Engineers, medics, doctors, nurses, municipal workers, and many other                              
15 emergency professionals selflessly served the state and their fellow Alaskans when they were                            
16 needed most; and                                                                                                        

01       WHEREAS, after the earthquake, the United States Army Corps of Engineers                                    
02 launched "Operation Helping Hand," a successful relief effort to restore essential roads,                               
03 power, fuel, water, and communications systems before the onset of winter; and                                          
04       WHEREAS members of the Alaska Army National Guard and the Alaska Air                                            
05 National Guard provided invaluable assistance with security following the earthquake,                                   
06 allowing emergency rescue and disaster relief personnel to assist Alaskans with the task of                             
07 recovering from the disaster; and                                                                                       
08       WHEREAS Major General Thomas P. Carroll, who was the adjutant general of the                                    
09 Alaska National Guard at the time, was killed April 27, 1964, in an airplane crash after                                
10 accompanying Governor William A. Egan to Valdez to survey the damage caused by the                                      
11 earthquake; also killed in the crash were the pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Norris, Sr., the                         
12 co-pilot, Major James Rowe, and the flight engineer, Technical Sergeant Kenneth W. Ayers;                               
13 and                                                                                                                     
14       WHEREAS, following the earthquake, thousands of Alaskans from all walks of life                                 
15 became first responders by helping to locate and treat injured Alaskans; and                                            
16       WHEREAS citizens immediately began the process of rebuilding devastated                                         
17 communities; and                                                                                                        
18       WHEREAS March 27, 2014, will mark the 50th anniversary of the Good Friday                                       
19 Earthquake;                                                                                                             
20       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature remembers, recognizes, and                                     
21 honors the hard work and exemplary sacrifice of the thousands of military and national guard                            
22 members, first responders, and citizens who came to the aid of Alaskans in the aftermath of                             
23 the Good Friday Earthquake; and be it                                                                                   
24       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature proclaims March 27,                                          
25 2014, as Good Friday Earthquake Remembrance Day.