110 HCON 253 IH: Hispanic American Heroes U.S. House of Representatives 2007-11-09 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 110th CONGRESS 1st Session H. CON. RES. 253 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES November 9, 2007 Mr. Rangel (for himself, Mr. Baca, Mr. Becerra, Mr. Costa, Mr. Fortuño, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Ortiz, Mr. Pastor, Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Reyes, Mr. Serrano, Ms. Solis, Mr. Sires, and Ms. Velázquez) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Recognizing the service, courage, and patriotism of Hispanic Americans who have served and continue to serve as members of the United States Armed Forces.

Whereas people of Hispanic or Latino descent, including Puerto Ricans and many other Americans, come from various countries, including Mexico, the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean, Central America, South America, Portugal, and Spain, and share a variety of racial backgrounds including Black, White, and Asian; Whereas men and women of Hispanic descent have served in every major military conflict in the history of the United States; Whereas Hispanic servicemen and servicewomen have been awarded 42 Congressional Medals of Honor for distinguished service in United States wars, receiving more of these awards than any other ethnic group; Whereas there are approximately 1,300,000 living Hispanic veterans in the United States; Whereas Department of Defense data shows that as of August 2006, over 210,000 servicemembers of Hispanic descent were serving in the United States military and more than 400 Hispanics have died in Afghanistan and Iraq as of June 2007; Whereas close to 20,000 Hispanic Americans participated in the Persian Gulf war and 26 Hispanic servicemembers died in combat during that war; Whereas, during the Vietnam war, more than 80,000 Hispanic Americans served in the United States Armed Forces, over 3,000 Hispanic Americans died in combat, and 16 Hispanic Americans were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor; Whereas nearly 150,000 Hispanic Americans served in the Korean war, including 61,000 Puerto Ricans, and during that war, 8 Hispanic officers were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor; Whereas the Puerto Rican 65th Infantry Regiment was the only all-Hispanic unit in the Korean War, and while serving with distinction, earned 4 Distinguished Service Crosses and 124 Silver Stars; Whereas the Puerto Rican 65th Infantry Regiment is credited with the last recorded battalion-sized bayonet assault in the history of the United States Army; Whereas a total of 6 Hispanic Americans were flying aces in World War II and the Korean war; Whereas 400,000 to 500,000 Hispanic servicemembers served in the United States Armed Forces during World War II, including approximately 200 Puerto Rican women who served in the Women’s Army Corp and served in the critical role of Code Talkers to avoid enemy intelligence, and in that war, 13 Hispanic servicemembers were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor; Whereas many Latinos of World War II and the Korean and Vietnam eras joined with African-Americans to fight racial barriers so that later generations could enjoy greater opportunities; Whereas in World War I, approximately 200,000 Hispanic Americans were mobilized, the majority of Mexican descent; Whereas 3 Mexican Americans were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Civil War; Whereas approximately 10,000 Mexican Americans, including women, served in the regular Army during the Civil War and in the volunteer units of the Union and the Confederacy; Whereas, during the War of 1812, Hispanic American troops in Louisiana and the surrounding areas were instrumental in General Andrew Jackson’s defeat of the British; Whereas the first Hispanic involvement in America’s military history was during the Revolutionary War in 1777; Whereas in the decisive Battle of Yorktown, 4,000 Spanish, Puerto Rican, and Cuban soldiers were killed and wounded in the defeat of British forces; Whereas the bravery and patriotism of Hispanic servicemen and servicewomen remain unquestioned despite their second-class treatment at home; Whereas Hispanic men and women on the battlefield faced a dual hardship of encountering discrimination, language barriers, and cultural insensitivity within their ranks, while placing their lives and safety on the line in a heroic manner; Whereas, during World War II, Latinos faced segregation in many public institutions, and continued to serve their country loyally, and then returned from the battlefield to dismantle the racial barriers of their time; and Whereas the contributions of Hispanics to the United States Armed Forces have been largely unrecognized in American history: Now, therefore, be it

1.

Short title

This concurrent resolution may be cited as the Hispanic American Heroes Resolution.

2.

Recognition of Hispanic American servicemembers

Congress recognizes Hispanic servicemembers for their courage on the battlefield throughout the history of the United States, as well as their determination, discipline, selfless service, and patriotism.