[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 6816-6817]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              IN RECOGNITION OF SERGEANT GUILLERMO DE LEON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. PETE P. GALLEGO

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 14, 2013

  Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the late Sergeant 
Guillermo ``Willie'' De Leon.
  Staff Sergeant De Leon was the son of a Terlingua miner--born on June 
25, 1919 in the 23rd congressional district in Big Bend and raised in 
Uvalde. He gained his strong work ethic at an early age--learning the 
stonemason and bricklayers trade during the Great Depression.

[[Page 6817]]

  Mr. De Leon was inducted in the U.S. Army in 1940--serving in the 
36th Infantry Division in North Africa and Italy. He made the rank of 
staff sergeant at an early age, becoming one of the first Mexican-
American noncommissioned officers and one of the first to command Anglo 
troops.
  Staff Sergeant De Leon led a squad of 12 men in the first wave of the 
amphibious landing at Salerno, Italy in 1943--wading through tracer 
bullets and his fallen comrades. He was also a member of the 141st 
Infantry Regiment, the all Mexican-American unit that led the attack at 
the crossing of the Rapido River. Staff Sergeant De Leon was one of 
only 26 men who survived the attack.
  Staff Sergeant De Leon's valor earned him several recognitions. He 
was awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart with one 
cluster, the American Defense Service Medal, the American Campaign 
Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four battle stars, and 
the World War II Victory Medal.
  After his service, he returned to Uvalde to be with his family. He 
was a true hero. It is fitting that the civic center of Uvalde be named 
in honor of this brave American soldier--and rededicated on May 27, 
2013. He is one of the community's most decorated veterans. The Staff 
Sergeant Willie De Leon Civic Center will pay tribute to the life of 
Guillermo De Leon.