R 151327Z OCT 08
MARADMIN 587/08
MSGID/GENADMIN,USMTF,2007/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA/MP//
SUBJ/DOD OBSERVANCE OF NATIONAL AMERICAN INDIAN HERITAGE MONTH
/NOVEMBER 2008//
POC/D. G. JACOBS/CAPT/UNIT:CMC (MPE)/-/TEL:(703) 784-9371
/TEL:DSN 278-9371//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1. THROUGH THEIR COURAGE, DETERMINATION, AND
FIGHTING SPIRIT, AMERICAN INDIANS HAVE PARTICIPATED WITH
DISTINCTION IN THE UNITED STATES MILITARY ACTIONS FOR MORE THAN 200
YEARS. THIS NOVEMBER, IN OBSERVANCE OF NATIONAL AMERICAN INDIAN
HERITAGE MONTH, WE TAKE THE TIME TO HONOR AND RECOGNIZE THE
SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY THE AMERICAN INDIAN COMMUNITY.
THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE THEME FOR THIS YEAR'S OBSERVANCE IS
"LIVING IN MANY WORLDS."
2. AMERICAN INDIAN HERITAGE MONTH ORIGINATED WHEN THE PRESIDENT OF
THE CONGRESS OF AMERICAN INDIAN ASSOCIATIONS ISSUED A PROCLAMATION
ANNOUNCING THE SECOND SATURDAY IN MAY AS AMERICAN INDIAN DAY IN 1915.
AMERICAN INDIAN HERITAGE MONTH TOOK VARIOUS FORMS OF RECOGNITION
THROUGHOUT THE YEARS UNTIL PRESIDENT GEORGE H. W. BUSH SIGNED
A JOINT CONGRESSIONAL RESOLUTION IN 1990, OFFICIALLY DESIGNATING
NOVEMBER AS "NATIONAL AMERICAN INDIAN HERITAGE MONTH."
3. AMERICAN INDIANS HAVE A LONG LEGACY OF PROTECTING THEIR
COMMUNITIES AND LANDS. THIS WARRIOR SPIRIT HAS COMPELLED MANY
AMERICAN INDIANS TO MILITARY SERVICE. DURING WORLD WAR I, ALMOST 25
PERCENT OF THE MALE AMERICAN INDIAN POPULATION SERVED IN THE WAR.
DURING WORLD WAR II, WHEN THE TOTAL AMERICAN INDIAN POPULATION
WAS LESS THAN 350,000, AN ESTIMATED 44,000 AMERICAN INDIAN MEN AND
WOMEN SERVED. AMERICAN INDIANS AGAIN ANSWERED THE CALL OF DUTY
FIGHTING AGAINST COMMUNIST AGGRESSION DURING THE KOREAN CONFLICT.
IN ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST TUMULTUOUS ERAS, OVER 42,000 AMERICAN
INDIANS - OF WHICH MORE THAN 90 PERCENT VOLUNTEERED FOR
SERVICE - FOUGHT IN VIETNAM. CURRENTLY, THERE ARE OVER 190,000
AMERICAN INDIAN MILITARY VETERANS.
4. TODAY, AMERICAN INDIAN MARINES CONTINUE THE PROUD WARRIOR
TRADITION OF SERVICE TO THEIR COUNTRY WITH THE SAME CORPS VALUES
OF THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED IN THE PAST. THERE ARE CURRENTLY 2,626
ACTIVE DUTY AMERICAN INDIAN MARINES SERVING IN THE MARINE CORPS.
SINCE SEPTEMBER 2003, 7,209 AMERICAN INDIAN MARINES HAVE DEPLOYED IN
THE WAR ON TERRORISM AND OF THESE AMERICAN INDIAN MARINES, THREE
HAVE EARNED THE NAVY CROSS, FIVE HAVE RECEIVED THE SILVER STAR, AND
THERE HAVE BEEN 136 RECIPIENTS OF THE BRONZE STAR. THIRTY-FOUR
AMERICAN INDIANS HAVE PAID THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE IN COMBAT.
5. THIS COUNTRY AND THE MARINE CORPS IS STRONGER TODAY FOR THE
NOTEWORTHY CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY AMERICAN INDIANS. AMERICAN INDIANS
HAVE MADE THEIR MARK IN SOME OF THE MOST STORIED EVENTS IN MARINE
CORPS HISTORY AND WILL CONTINUE TO PLAY A VITAL ROLE IN FIGHTING
OUR NATION'S BATTLES.
6. DURING NATIONAL AMERICAN INDIAN HERITAGE MONTH, COMMANDERS ARE
ENCOURAGED TO TAKE TIME TO RECOGNIZE AND CELEBRATE THE DEDICATED
SERVICE AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF AMERICAN INDIANS, BOTH PAST AND PRESENT,
TO OUR COUNTRY AND CORPS. COMMANDERS ARE FURTHER ENCOURAGED TO
CONDUCT PROGRAMS AND PROMOTE PARTICIPATION IN OBSERVANCE EVENTS AT
THEIR COMMANDS AND IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY.
7. RELEASE AUTHORIZED BY MR. M. F. APPLEGATE, DIRECTOR, MANPOWER
PLANS AND POLICY DIVISION.//