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HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Marcelino Serna was one of the most decorated |
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military veterans in Texas history, and his heroic actions during |
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World War I make him a worthy candidate for the Congressional Medal |
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of Honor, our nation's highest military award; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Chihuahua, Mexico, in 1896, Mr. Serna came |
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to the United States as a young man and spent time in Texas, Kansas, |
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and Colorado; after the United States entered World War I in 1917, |
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he enlisted in the U.S. Army at the age of 20, and after only three |
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weeks of training, he was shipped overseas with the 355th Infantry, |
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89th Division; when his superior officers in France learned that he |
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was not a U.S. citizen, they gave him the opportunity to return |
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home, but Private Serna chose to stay and fight; and |
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WHEREAS, Private Serna demonstrated exceptional |
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resourcefulness and courage on the battlefield; during an |
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engagement near the French town of St. Mihiel, 12 members of his |
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unit were hit by fire from an enemy machine gun, and Private Serna |
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obtained permission from his lieutenant to scout out the gun |
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emplacement on his own; moving through heavy fire, and surviving |
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two rounds that were deflected by his helmet, he tossed four hand |
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grenades into the machine gun nest, killing six of the enemy; he |
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then took the eight survivors captive; and |
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WHEREAS, Shortly thereafter, during the Meuse-Argonne |
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campaign, Private Serna embarked on a second lone scouting mission; |
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he began by wounding a German sniper with a shot from 200 yards, |
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then followed the injured man into a trench; firing and hurling |
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grenades in all directions to make it seem as if he were part of a |
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larger force, he shot three German soldiers immediately, then |
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attacked an enemy dugout, felling 26 more and capturing 24; he |
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single-handedly held the prisoners at gunpoint until other members |
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of his unit arrived; and |
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WHEREAS, Private Serna continued to serve in combat until the |
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end of the war, receiving a wound in each leg, and while he was |
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recovering in a French hospital, he was presented with the |
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Distinguished Service Cross, our nation's second highest military |
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decoration, from the American commander in France, General John J. |
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Pershing; he also earned the World War I Victory Medal with five |
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stars, the Victory Medal with three campaign bars, the St. Mihiel |
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Medal, the Verdun Medal, and two Purple Hearts; he was further |
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decorated by the governments of France, Italy, and the United |
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Kingdom, receiving two French Croix de Guerre with Palm Medals, the |
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French Medaille Militaire, the French Commemorative Medal, the |
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British Medal of Honor, and the Italian Cross of Merit; and |
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WHEREAS, After returning to the United States, Mr. Serna |
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became a U.S. citizen in 1924 and settled in El Paso, where he |
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worked for the quartermaster at Fort Bliss; he was a charter member |
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of VFW Post No. 2753 and volunteered with veterans advocacy groups, |
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and when he died in 1992, he was buried with full military honors at |
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Fort Bliss; he was the most decorated Texas veteran of World War I, |
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winning every major military award short of the Congressional Medal |
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of Honor, and records indicate that he was denied that supreme honor |
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only because he was a Mexican American immigrant and did not know |
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enough English to be promoted; and |
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WHEREAS, Marcelino Serna volunteered to serve our nation in |
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combat before he was even a citizen, and he stayed to fight when he |
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might have gone home; his courageous battlefield actions during |
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World War I have been recognized with a host of illustrious |
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commendations, and he truly warrants the highest honor that can be |
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bestowed on a member of the armed forces of the United States; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to support the |
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nomination of Marcelino Serna for the Congressional Medal of Honor; |
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and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, to the United States |
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secretary of defense, and to all the members of the Texas delegation |
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to Congress with the request that this resolution be officially |
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entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of |
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the United States of America. |
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