(May 25, 2008) Huntington Park – Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard joined approximately 50 southeast community leaders and residents in honoring service men and women for Memorial Day. The third annual ceremony paid tribute to the thousands of men and women who lost their lives serving our nation. During her remarks, the congresswoman joined Mayor Elba Guerrero in reading the names of 53 Huntington Park residents, one police officer, and one firefighter who lost their lives in the line of duty since World War I.
Pictured in the first photo in front of the Memorial plaque in Freedom Park: Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (light blue blazer) and Huntington Park Mayor Elba Guerrero are pictured with members of the City of Wilmington VFW Post #2967.
Pictured in the center photo in front of the memorial plaque in Freedom Park, left to right: (front) Huntington Park City Councilwoman Ofelia Hernandez; Jake Alarid of the California Veterans Board; Congresswoman Roybal-Allard; Huntington Park Mayor Elba Guerrero; Tomas Martin, former Maywood Mayor. (Back row) Huntington Park Councilman Juan Noguez and Huntington Park Police Chief Mike Trevis
Below is the full text of Congresswoman Roybal-Allard’s remarks:
“It is a privilege to join you in paying homage to our countrymen and women who made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of our great nation.
On Memorial Day, we honor all our country’s heroes. But in this community we also have special pride in the 53 residents of Huntington Park who courageously served our nation and the police officer and firefighter who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
I commend the organizers of today’s memorial ceremony, for it is a reflection of our pride in the service of our fallen and a worthy symbol of how our community places the utmost value on patriotism, honor, and service to our nation and our community.
During this time of tribute to our men and women in uniform, I also commend and thank the many members of our community who supported the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to ensure the World War II PBS Documentary, entitled, “The War”, included the contributions and sacrifices that were made by Latinos in defense of our country.
Thanks to your advocacy and that of many supporters across the nation, Director Ken Burns added the stories of two Latino WWII veterans to his documentary.
While the final documentary still fell short of what we had hoped for, there are indications our collective efforts are having an impact.
For example, in response to the outcry surrounding the omission of Latinos in the original documentary, PBS has created a new position on diversity initiatives in programming to ensure the contributions of Latinos and all groups that make our nation great are included in future projects.
As we pay tribute to those who have fallen in defense of our nation, it is also important that we never forget our sacred commitment and responsibility to our returning veterans.
Toward that end, I am pleased to report that the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate have passed a new GI Bill to restore full, four-year scholarships to veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
The legislation will likely be sent to the President in the coming weeks. We hope he will sign the bill for it will mark a historic increase in funding to expand the education benefits of the GI Bill.
As was the case with our veterans of WWII, these educational scholarships will be critical for enabling troops to be part of our nation’s economic recovery.
Also noteworthy is that last year, Congress provided the largest increase in funding for veteran’s health care in the 77-year history of the VA.
These successes, coupled with our forward movement with PBS, are a critical part of the mosaic of advocacy that honors our men and women in uniform and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of our country and our democratic way of life.
On this Memorial Day, I would like to close by highlighting the more than 4,500 U.S. soldiers who have fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan since March 2003. This number includes 488 Californians, 35 of whom are from our Los Angeles communities.
Please join me in honoring them and all of our nation’s fallen with a moment of silence.
May we always be inspired by their courage and resolve that freedom can triumph over tyranny and terrorism. May God bless you, our troops, and the United States of America.”
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