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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The Medal of Honor is the nation's highest |
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decoration for valor in combat awarded to members of the United |
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States armed forces; generally presented to recipients by the |
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president of the United States on congress's behalf, it is often |
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called the Congressional Medal of Honor; and |
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WHEREAS, First authorized in 1861 for U.S. Navy and Marine |
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Corps personnel and for U.S. Army soldiers the following year, |
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Medals of Honor are awarded sparingly and bestowed only on those |
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individuals performing documented acts of gallant heroism against |
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an enemy force; and |
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WHEREAS, Since congress authorized the award, 70 Medals of |
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Honor have been accredited to the State of Texas, yet other Texans |
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have similarly distinguished themselves by acts of courageous |
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gallantry in combat no less deserving of such recognition; one such |
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individual is Marcelino Serna, a native of Mexico whose unflinching |
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and selfless bravery and acts of uncommon valor on the battlefields |
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of World War I made him one of Texas' most decorated heroes; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in the Mexican state of Chihuahua in 1896, he |
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came to the United States as a young man in search of a better life, |
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working various jobs in Texas, Kansas, and Colorado; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1917, Mr. Serna was working in Colorado when the |
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United States, unable to remain neutral any longer while war raged |
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in Europe, declared war on Germany; later that year, federal |
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officials in Denver, Colorado, gathered a group of men and held them |
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until their draft status could be verified; and |
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WHEREAS, Included in this group, Mr. Serna chose not to wait |
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for such verification and instead volunteered for service in the |
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U.S. Army; after only three weeks of training, 20-year-old Private |
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Serna was shipped to England, where he was assigned to the 355th |
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Infantry of the 89th Division, a unit that was to see action in some |
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of the most arduous campaigns of the war; and |
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WHEREAS, By the time the unit arrived in France, Private |
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Serna's status as a noncitizen had come to light, and he was |
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consequently offered a discharge from the army; given the |
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opportunity to return home, Private Serna refused the discharge, |
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choosing to stay with his unit as it began its advance toward the |
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Meuse River and Argonne Forest in northeastern France; and |
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WHEREAS, At St. Mihiel, Private Serna's unit was moving |
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through thick brush when a German machine gunner opened fire, |
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killing 12 American soldiers; with his lieutenant's permission, |
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Private Serna, a scout, continued forward, dodging machine-gun fire |
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until he reached the gunner's left flank; and |
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WHEREAS, Having come through a hail of bullets unscathed, |
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despite being hit twice in the helmet, Private Serna got close |
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enough to lob four grenades into the machine-gun nest, killing six |
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enemy soldiers and taking into custody the eight survivors, who |
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quickly surrendered to the lone American soldier; and |
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WHEREAS, This encounter was followed shortly by an even more |
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astounding feat when, during his second scouting mission in the |
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Meuse-Argonne campaign, Private Serna captured 24 German soldiers |
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with his Enfield rifle and grenades, an episode that began when he |
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spied a sniper walking on a trench bank; and |
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WHEREAS, Although the sniper was about 200 yards away, |
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Private Serna shot and wounded him, then followed the wounded |
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German's trail into a trench, where he discovered several more |
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enemy soldiers; opening fire, Private Serna killed three of the |
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enemy and scattered the others in that initial burst; and |
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WHEREAS, Frequently changing positions, Private Serna fooled |
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the enemy into thinking they were under fire from several |
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Americans, keeping up the ruse until he was close enough to lob |
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three grenades into the German dugout; in about 45 minutes of |
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furious action, Private Serna managed to kill 26 German soldiers |
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and capture another 24, whom he held captive by himself until his |
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unit arrived; and |
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WHEREAS, Enduring several months of combat action largely |
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unharmed, Private Serna was shot in both legs by a sniper four days |
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before the Armistice; while he was convalescing in an army hospital |
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in France, General John J. Pershing, commander-in-chief of the |
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American Expeditionary Forces, decorated Private Serna with the |
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Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest American combat |
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medal; and |
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WHEREAS, Private Serna also received two French Croix de |
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Guerre with Palm medals, the French Medaille Militaire, the French |
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Commemorative Medal, the British Medal of Honor, the Italian Cross |
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of Merit, the WWI Victory Medal with five stars, the Victory Medal |
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with three campaign bars, the St. Mihiel Medal, the Verdun Medal, |
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and two Purple Hearts; and |
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WHEREAS, Discharged from the army in 1919, Marcelino Serna |
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settled in El Paso, where he became a U.S. citizen, entered the |
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civil service, and lived out his retirement years until his death in |
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1992; although he lived the most ordinary of lives after the war, |
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Mr. Serna was, for a brief moment in time, an extraordinary hero |
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whose remarkable feats of bravery under fire elevated him into the |
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pantheon of American heroes; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1993, Texas Congressman Ronald D. Coleman |
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introduced a measure in the 103rd Congress to waive certain |
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statutory time limits on awarding the Medal of Honor and thus bestow |
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on Marcelino Serna the proper recognition he so richly deserves; |
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unfortunately, the measure did not receive a proper hearing, |
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thereby denying the legacy of Mr. Serna its proper place in history; |
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now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to |
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reopen consideration of this case to posthumously award the Medal |
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of Honor to World War I hero Marcelino Serna; 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 speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the |
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senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the |
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Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this |
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resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |