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2015 SESSION
WHEREAS, Frances Rice, a former nurse who served during the famed Battle of the Bulge during World War II, became the second United States Army nurse in Virginia to receive the French Legion of Honor on December 27, 2014; and
WHEREAS, a native of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Frances Rice, known as Rusty to family and friends for her curly red hair, learned the value of hard work and responsibility at a young age; she became a nurse to help support her family and worked in a maternity hospital; and
WHEREAS, desirous to be of service to her country, Frances Rice joined the United States Army Nurse Corps and deployed to France as a second lieutenant in 1944; she was assigned to an evacuation hospital before transferring to the 236th General Hospital in Épinal; and
WHEREAS, Frances Rice took part in the Battle of the Bulge, a Nazi counterattack against Allied lines in the Ardennes Forest; her hospital primarily treated soldiers with pneumonia, broken bones, trench foot, or other medical conditions; and
WHEREAS, Frances Rice was bound for the Pacific Theater when Japan surrendered in 1945; she returned to the United States and worked in an army hospital in Augusta, Georgia, until 1946; and
WHEREAS, Frances Rice married her late husband, Francis, in 1947; the couple proudly raised three daughters before moving to Blacksburg in 2001; and
WHEREAS, a humble servant to her country, Frances Rice is quick to point out the dedication of her fellow nurses and the valor of the soldiers they treated; and
WHEREAS, Frances Rice received the French Legion of Honor medal at a special ceremony at Warm Hearth Village in Blacksburg on December 27, 2014; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Frances Rice on receiving the French Legion of Honor for her courageous service as a nurse during World War II; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Frances Rice as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for service to her country and the world.