[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5436]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                            SAN JACINTO DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GENE GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 22, 2015

  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate one 
of the most important events in Texas history. Yesterday, on April 21, 
Texans celebrated the 179th anniversary of San Jacinto Day.
  On that day in 1836, approximately 900 Texian and Tejano volunteers 
overpowered a larger professional Mexican army of conscript soldiers, 
after defeats at the Battles of Goliad and the Alamo. These outnumbered 
volunteers succeeded because they were fighting against tyranny and for 
their homeland. In the words of the Texas Declaration of Independence, 
the people's government had been ``forcibly changed, without their 
consent, from a restricted federative republic, composed of sovereign 
states, to a consolidated central military despotism.''
  The Texas Revolution proved the bonds of freedom are stronger than 
ethnicity, as many Tejanos and Texians sacrificed their lives for 
Texas' freedom at the Battles of Gonzalez, Bexar, Goliad, the Alamo, 
and San Jacinto. The war was not between Anglos and Hispanics, it was a 
struggle between all Texans and the unjust military dictatorship of 
Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana in Mexico City. Texians and Tejanos knew 
then what we know now--freedom requires sacrifice.
  Texas culture places high honors on heroes willing to sacrifice their 
lives for a better life for their fellow man, and Texans are known 
around the world as an honorable people who respond to the call of 
duty. While our young people are answering today's calls of duty, we 
should not forget those who have bravely answered that call in the 
past.
  With an understanding of where they came from, future Texans will 
continue to respond to calls to service, and Texans will continue to be 
respected and admired around the world.

                          ____________________