HJ325: Commending Margaret Lucille Waggoner Young.


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 325
Offered February 1, 2008
Commending Margaret Lucille Waggoner Young.
Patrons-- Oder, Hamilton and Pogge

WHEREAS, Margaret Lucille Waggoner Young, an admired citizen of Hampton since 1962, is recognized for her outstanding service to the Commonwealth and the nation; and

WHEREAS, Margaret “Maggie” Young was born and grew up in Illinois, the daughter of Herva Isom and Tressa Ralston Waggoner and the devoted sister of Walter Isom and Aggie Lorraine “Bobbie” Waggoner; she was called “Marg” by her friends and family until the time she was married; and

WHEREAS, Maggie Young graduated from Iowa State University in 1936 with a degree in home economics and was employed by Carson, Pirie, Scott department store in Chicago, as well as the National Dairy Council and the WPA School Lunch Project; and

WHEREAS, in November 1940, Maggie Young’s father died unexpectedly, and on December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and when her mother also died suddenly in May 1942, Maggie Young was heartbroken and “escaped into the Army,” joining the newly formed Women's Army Corps (WAC); and

WHEREAS, determined to serve her country, Maggie Young enrolled in the second class of officers to be trained for the WAC in 1942 and in six weeks graduated basic training at Fort Des Moines in Iowa; and

WHEREAS, in 1943 Congress passed a law officially establishing the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) as part of the regular Army, and though women could not command men, for the first time they were permitted to serve in roles other than nurse; and

WHEREAS, as a second lieutenant, Maggie Young was stationed in Kansas, Massachusetts, and then Fort Eustis in Newport News, training female soldiers to set up cooking and baking schools for the troops; and

WHEREAS, after the D-Day invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, Maggie Young was transferred to a military hospital in Richmond, where she worked receiving badly injured troops arriving from the European front; and

WHEREAS, thousands of wounded soldiers arrived at the port in Newport News, and Maggie Young would meet, encourage, and console each young man and escort the soldiers by train to Richmond for hospital care; and

WHEREAS, Maggie Young completed her 36 months of service and left the WAAC in September 1945; earned a master’s degree at Columbia University, New York, in 1947 under the GI Bill; and met and married a serviceman, Malcolm Maclean “Mac” Young, who affectionately nicknamed her “Maggie”; and

WHEREAS, Maggie and Mac Young have three wonderful children, Molly, Katie, and Robbie, and as a dedicated military family were stationed around the United States and in England and Tripoli, Libya, until finally settling in Hampton in 1962; and

WHEREAS, Maggie Young has been a member of New Covenant Church in Hampton since 1964 and supportive of the church’s many missions in the community; and

WHEREAS, committed to continue her service by aiding her community, Maggie Young has been a longtime supporter of events and activities in the City of Hampton, and she is especially faithful in her attendance at Veterans Day festivities and other national and state holidays honoring service men and women; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly commend Margaret Lucille Waggoner Young for her exemplary service to the City of Hampton, the Commonwealth, and the nation; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Margaret Lucille Waggoner Young as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration of her service to her country and her continued support of the nation’s veterans.