Bill Text: AZ HCM2001 | 2013 | Fifty-first Legislature 1st Regular | Introduced
Bill Title: PFC Sylvestre Herrera; military service
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-01-17 - Introduced [HCM2001 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2013-HCM2001-Introduced.html
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REFERENCE TITLE: PFC Sylvestre Herrera; military service |
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State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-first Legislature First Regular Session 2013
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HCM 2001 |
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Introduced by Representatives Miranda, Mendez: Borrelli, Brophy McGee, Cardenas, Contreras, Dalessandro, Gabaldón, Gonzales, Otondo, Steele
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A CONCURRENT MEMORIAL
urging the congress of the united states to introduce and adopt the military service portions of the dream act.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
To the Members of the United States Congress:
Your memorialist respectfully represents:
Whereas, Private First Class (PFC) Silvestre S. Herrera of the 36th Infantry Division became the first soldier from Arizona in World War II to receive the Medal of Honor presented by President Harry S. Truman on August 23, 1945; and
Whereas, PFC Herrera was brought to this country from Mexico when he was eighteen months of age. In 1944, when he was twenty-seven years old with three children and expecting a fourth child, he announced his desire to volunteer to serve this country in the military. His uncle told him that he was not a citizen and was not obligated to serve, yet PFC Herrera joined the Texas National Guard and 36th Infantry Division for combat in Europe; and
Whereas, during his service, PFC Herrera single-handedly charged the enemy stronghold, allowing his fellow soldiers to skirt the enemy and capture the machine gun nest; and
Whereas, PFC Herrera's heroic charge against an enemy stronghold on March 15, 1945 under heavy fire in Mertzwiller, France single-handedly ended an enemy ambush, drawing enemy fire away from his fellow soldiers and allowing for the capture of eight German soldiers. PFC Herrera's courageous actions resulted in the loss of both of his legs in a mine field; and
Whereas, PFC Herrera returned to a hero's welcome, and Arizona citizens raised $14,000 to provide his family with a home and supported an intense bid to grant him citizenship; and
Whereas, PFC Herrera remained a humble man, proud of his American citizenship and his Mexican heritage until his passing on November 26, 2007; and
Whereas, under current immigration laws, PFC Herrera would not have been permitted to enlist in the military to serve this country and would possibly have been deported; and
Whereas, PFC Herrera's family urges the United States Congress to support the opportunity of qualified young men and women of impeccable character and integrity, like PFC Herrera, who were brought to this country by their parents before they were sixteen years of age and who are graduates of high school, to serve this country in the military; and
Whereas, these young men and women, on enlistment, obligate themselves to serve this country in the military for a period of at least three years and, on honorable discharge from the military, should be granted United States citizenship; and
Whereas, the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors or DREAM Act would provide a pathway to citizenship for those who were brought to this country unknowingly and who wish to serve their country in the armed forces.
Wherefore your memorialist, the House of Representatives of the State of Arizona, the Senate concurring, prays:
1. That the Congress of the United States introduce and enact into law the portions of the DREAM Act relating to military service.
2. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona transmit copies of this Memorial to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and each Member of Congress from the State of Arizona.
