NEWS FROM….

CONGRESSMAN LANE EVANS

RANKING DEMOCRATIC MEMBER

COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS

    U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Washington, DC – "Mr. Speaker, I join with many of my colleagues today to support a day to honor and give thanks to America’s minority veterans – the soldiers, the sailors, the men and women of the Air Force, and, of course, my fellow Marines," said Congressman Lane Evans of Illinois, the Ranking Democrat on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. "More of the world is free today than ever before, thanks in no small part to the valor and sacrifice of our nation’s minority veterans half a century ago."

The Day of Honor 2000 Project has enlisted communities across the United States to participate in celebrations to honor minority veterans of World War II on May 25, 2000, and throughout the year 2000.

"The twentieth century began with much of the globe dominated by militaristic empires," said Evans. After the First World War, " the hideous forces of totalitarianism grew to great power, threatening to engulf us all. In that dark hour, American GIs of every color, of every national origin and creed, left the safety of their homes and began the struggle of the century. In World War II, American forces joined with freedom-loving people from Europe, Africa and Asia to defeat the Axis."

"The cost was extraordinarily high," Evans reminded Congress. "Over one and one-half million minority Americans gave their lives to this cause. Some 1.2 million were African Americans, for whom racial slavery was no hypothetical concept. Over 300,000 were Hispanic Americans and another 50,000 were Asian Americans, willing to look past the discrimination they endured toward a better day that only democracy could bring." More than 20,000 Native Americans died in World War II, along with more than 5,000 Native Hawaiians and over 3,000 Native Alaskans.

Evans cited the words of General Colin Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who wrote last year that among those who best exemplified courage, selflessness, exuberance, superhuman ability, and amazing grace during the past 100 years was the American GI.

General Powell wrote of the GIs who died to make democracy "the ascendant political system of the face of the earth. The GIs were willing to travel far away and give their lives, if necessary, to secure the rights and freedoms of others. Only a nation such as ours, based on a firm moral foundation, could make such a request of its citizens. And the GIs wanted nothing more than to get the job done and then return home safely."

The American GI who served during World War II came in many colors and represented many cultures, Evans noted. "Those who grew up in my generation, and went on to serve in another dark time, have taken courage in the stories of the Tuskeegee Airmen, the Nissei soldiers in Italy, the Navajo code-talkers in the Pacific, the Hispanic fighters who head the roll of the Medal of Honor and others. The diversity of these heroic men and women, and their determination to show what they could do, was a source of their strength. It still is today."

In light of the accomplishments of the Armed Forces of the United States during World War II both in defeating the forces of tyranny and dictatorship and in embodying a sense of honor, decency, and respect for mankind, Evans said he strongly supports saluting America’s minority GIs.

"But no tribute to the courage and dedication of America’s minority veterans should stop with 1945," Evans said. "Having fought for their country, these diverse and courageous men and women could no longer be contained by the harsh realities of racism they had known as children. They were also the footsoldiers and leaders of the civil rights movements that followed World War II. They went home and took on careers and bought homes, set up businesses, entered the professions and all the walks of life that had been barely imaginable for them before the war. They had defended democracy as servicemembers and wanted nothing less than full participation in the democratic institutions they had preserved. I am proud to honor our nation’s brave minority veterans. I salute them and thank them for a job well done."