R 162310Z SEP 15
MARADMIN 450/15
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MP/MPE//
SUBJ/2015 HISPANIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH 15 SEP – 15 OCT//
POC/L. J. GADEA/SGT/UNIT: MPE/-/TEL: (703)784-9371/TEL: DSN 278-9371/TEL: COMM (703)784-9371//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1. HISPANIC AMERICANS HAVE LONG PLAYED AN INTEGRAL ROLE IN AMERICA’S RICH CULTURE, PROUD HERITAGE, AND THE BUILDING OF THIS GREAT NATION. EACH YEAR, AMERICANS OBSERVE NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH FROM 15 SEPTEMBER - 15 OCTOBER TO CELEBRATE THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF AMERICAN CITIZENS WHOSE ANCESTORS CAME FROM SPAIN, MEXICO, THE CARIBBEAN, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND SOUTH AMERICA. THIS YEAR’S THEME IS: “HISPANIC AMERICANS: ENERGIZING OUR NATION’S DIVERSITY.” IT INVITES US TO REFLECT ON HISPANIC AMERICANS’ VITALITY AND MEANINGFUL LEGACY IN OUR NATION’S CULTURAL FRAMEWORK.
2. HISPANIC AMERICANS HAVE CONTRIBUTED SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE DEFENSE OF OUR NATION. MANY HISPANICS ENLISTED IN THE U.S. MILITARY IN THE EARLY 1940S AS WORLD WAR II WAS SETTING IN. SERGEANT MAJOR MACARIO GARCIA BECAME THE FIRST MEXICAN-AMERICAN TO RECEIVE THE MEDAL OF HONOR FOR HIS ACTIONS IN GERMANY, DURING WORLD WAR II. DECADES LATER, MARINE SERGEANT ALFREDO GONZALEZ POSTHUMOUSLY RECEIVED THE MEDAL OF HONOR FOR HIS ACTIONS IN THE VIETNAM WAR. IN 1996, THE GUIDED MISSILE DESTROYER USS GONZALEZ WAS NAMED AFTER HIM, AND WAS THE FIRST U.S. NAVY SHIP TO BE NAMED AFTER A HISPANIC SERVICE MEMBER. AFTER THE VIETNAM CONFLICT, MASTER SERGEANT JUAN J. VALDEZ, NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICER IN CHARGE OF THE MARINE SECURITY GUARD DETACHMENT AT THE U.S. EMBASSY IN SAIGON, WAS THE LAST U.S. SERVICE MEMBER TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY OF VIETNAM. SELFLESSLY CARRYING OUT HIS DUTY, MASTER SERGEANT VALDEZ CARRIED OUT THE EMBASSY’S AMERICAN FLAG. FOLLOWING A PATH OF HARD WORK AND SERVICE TO COUNTRY, CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER ROSE FRANCO BECAME THE FIRST FEMALE PUERTO RICAN CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER IN THE U.S. MARINE CORPS. SHE WAS LATER NAMED ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO PAUL HENRY NITZE, THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY. THESE INDIVIDUALS, ALONG WITH MANY OTHER HISPANIC AMERICANS, HAVE ENERGIZED OUR NATION’S DIVERSITY AND ARE PART OF OUR NATION’S DEFENSE COMPRISING 15 PERCENT OF THE MARINE CORPS CURRENT TOTAL FORCE.
3. DURING THE HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH, COMMANDERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO TAKE TIME TO INCREASE AWARENESS AND CELEBRATE THE DEDICATED SERVICE AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF HISPANIC AMERICANS TO OUR COUNTRY AND CORPS. COMMANDERS ARE FURTHER ENCOURAGED TO CONDUCT PROGRAMS AND PROMOTE PARTICIPATION IN OBSERVANCE EVENTS IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY.
4. RELEASE AUTHORIZED BY (SES) MR. M. F. APPLEGATE, DIRECTOR, MANPOWER PLANS AND POLICY DIVISION.//