[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 59 (Thursday, March 30, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E744]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


         HONORING HISPANIC-AMERICAN WWII SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN

                                 ______


                         HON. SOLOMON P. ORTIZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 30, 1995
  Mr. ORITZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring the attention of my 
colleagues to a very important and emotional event that is occurring on 
March 31, 1995--the laying of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown 
Soldier by the widow of Sgt. Abelardo Montanez.
  Sergeant Montanez was killed in the invasion of Attu, AL, in World 
War II. His widow, Mrs. Esperanza Ramos Montanez, will lay the wreath 
today on behalf of the widows and mothers of the Hispanic-American WWII 
service men and women, at the Arlington National Cemetery.
  The Armed Services of WWII were vastly different from the Armed 
Services of 1995. In the 1940's, the United States was still a 
segregated society, both in civilian and in military life. While the 
segregation of African Americans it is a widely discussed and 
remembered fact, it is not so widely known that Hispanic Americans were 
also segregated into their own units during the war.
  Many Hispanic Americans served proudly in WWII. They fought honorably 
to advance the cause of democracy and freedom in the world; and they 
died on battlefields far from their homes and families all over Europe 
and in the pacific. In WWII alone, 12 Hispanics received the Medal of 
Honor. Interestingly enough, per capita, there are more Hispanic 
recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor than any other ethnic 
group, for meritorious service to their country in times of war.
  In act, WWII was a transforming event for the Hispanic community. 
Many Hispanics who served in the Armed Forces returned to the United 
States to blatant discrimination in their hometowns. Many built on 
their gallant service after they returned home by organizing and making 
it known that discrimination was no longer acceptable.
  One of the organizations that galvanized Hispanic veterans into a 
potent political force was the American G.I. Forum, founded by my 
political and personal mentor, Dr. Hector Garcia, also a winner of the 
Congressional Medal of Honor, of Corpus Christi, TX. The G.I. Forum, 
and other organizations founded by veterans--for veterans--registered 
voters and petitioned local and State governments to treat Hispanics 
equally with other elements of their communities.
  The G.I. Forum will join the Ramos Family, and the U.S. Hispanic 
Chamber of Commerce in this important--and long overdue--ceremony.


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