[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 14410-14411]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING THE LIFE OF JOSE GUADALUPE RAMOS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GRACE F. NAPOLITANO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 13, 2017

  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I rise to 
honor the life of Jose Guadalupe Ramos, a beloved Vietnam veteran, 
Purple Heart recipient and veterans' advocate who passed away on 
September 3, 2017.
  Mr. Ramos was born on September 17, 1948, in East Los Angeles, 
California. He attended Garfield High School and enlisted in the Army 
in 1965.
  Mr. Ramos served bravely in Vietnam from 1967 to 68, where he was an 
Army medic exposed to the horrors of war while caring for fellow 
soldiers wounded on the battlefield. He himself was awarded the Purple 
Heart after being shot in the leg.
  When Mr. Ramos returned from Vietnam, he and his fellow veterans were 
ignored by an American public disillusioned with the Vietnam War. The 
trauma they witnessed abroad was exacerbated by the disrespect and 
insults made against Vietnam veterans at the time. Even while suffering 
from his own mental and physical wounds, Mr. Ramos continued to care 
for others by working in emergency rooms in Los Angeles County 
hospitals.

[[Page 14411]]

  Mr. Ramos' compassion for helping others did not end there. He had a 
desire to heal the mental wounds that his fellow Vietnam veterans still 
lived with when they were not given a proper welcome home. Mr. Ramos 
led an effort to get local, state, and federal governments to honor 
these heroes with a ``Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day.'' He convinced 
the State of California to recognize March 30th as Welcome Home Vietnam 
Veterans Day. His efforts were a part of getting 38 states, Puerto 
Rico, and the U.S. Congress to observe Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans 
Day.
  Mr. Ramos carried this message across the United States by biking 
multiple times from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. to build support 
for recognition of a Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day. He also biked 
through Vietnam with veterans from both sides of the conflict to 
promote healing and peace.
  I was blessed to have known Mr. Ramos, and to have worked with him in 
our community and during his visits to Washington to help Vietnam 
veterans get the recognition, respect and care that they deserve.
  Mr. Ramos alleviated the suffering of his fellow soldiers wounded on 
the field of battle, he alleviated the suffering of his fellow 
Angelenos in the emergency rooms of Southern California, and he 
alleviated the suffering in the hearts and minds of veterans who bore 
invisible wounds from Vietnam and their return to the United States.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring Jose Ramos 
for his courage, character and commitment to supporting his fellow 
veterans. We extend our deepest sympathies to Mr. Ramos' family and 
friends for their loss. He was a model citizen and a hero for our 
community, our state and our nation.

                          ____________________