SENATE MEMORIAL 102

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2016

INTRODUCED BY

Pete Campos

A MEMORIAL

DECLARING FEBRUARY 15, 2016 AS "MILITARY AND VETERANS' DAY" IN THE SENATE.

     WHEREAS, New Mexico has a long and proud history of military service by its residents, a service that dates back hundreds of years before statehood, when indigenous New Mexicans resisted the advancement of European settlers in the area; and

     WHEREAS, one hundred years ago, just four years after New Mexico became the nation's forty-seventh state, "citizen soldiers" of the New Mexico national guard were federally activated for the first time when the United States army needed assistance answering attacks by Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa and his men on the town of Columbus, New Mexico, and on other outposts in the southwest territories; and

     WHEREAS, from that time on, members of the New Mexico national guard and other residents continued to answer the call to arms when the nation recruited brave men and women to serve in World War I, World War II, the Korean conflict, the cold war, the Vietnam conflict, the Gulf War and the global war on terrorism and in peacetime eras between those wars and conflicts; and

     WHEREAS, with four military installations located in New Mexico, and one hundred seventy-one thousand veterans and military retirees living in the state, military influence continues to remain a strong part of the state today;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that February 15, 2016 be declared "Military and Veterans' Day" in the senate and that gratitude be extended to New Mexico's current and former military service members for their service and sacrifices for their country; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the New Mexico national guard be honored on the one-hundred-year anniversary of the New Mexico national guard's first federal activation; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that New Mexico's citizen soldiers be honored for answering the call when brave men and women are needed at home or when warriors are needed abroad in times of international crisis; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the department of military affairs and to the veterans' services department.

- 3 -