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A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO

INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO AWARD THE CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL TO

BATAAN VETERANS.

WHEREAS, beginning December 8, 1941, in the critical early

hours of World War II, the 200th coast artillery of the New

Mexico national guard was in the first line of defense in the

United States commonwealth territory of the Philippines

against the attack launched by Japanese forces immediately

after Japan's December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii;

and

WHEREAS, during the 1941 Japanese invasion of the

Philippines, the 200th coast artillery of the New Mexico

national guard stood between the invading Japanese forces and

the freedom of the American and Filipino peoples; and

WHEREAS, the 200th coast artillery was the first to fire

upon Japanese forces and the last to put down their rifles

when ordered to surrender on April 9, 1942; and

WHEREAS, before being ordered to surrender, the men of the

200th coast artillery made a valiant stand in the face of

terrible odds, while suffering through months of enemy attack

with outmoded equipment; a scarcity of food, medicine and

ammunition; and diseases such as malaria, dysentery and

beriberi that ravaged them to utter exhaustion; and

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WHEREAS, the men of the 200th coast artillery were

captured by Japanese forces on April 9, 1942 and, in an

already starved, exhausted and sickened state, they had to

endure the infamous Bataan death march, during which Japanese

soldiers forced the men of the 200th coast artillery to march

for six long days in scorching tropical heat while starving

and brutalizing the men along the way; and

WHEREAS, the courageous men of the 200th coast artillery

endured four years in prisoner of war camps, where they were

forced into slave labor and lost scores of their ranks to

starvation, disease and brutality; and

WHEREAS, the men who returned home contributed

immeasurably to the country's growth as members of the

"greatest generation"; and

WHEREAS, the 200th coast artillery received four

presidential unit citations and the Philippine presidential

citation for their valorous defense of the American and

Filipino peoples; and

WHEREAS, the congressional gold medal is considered the

nation's highest civilian award and the most distinguished

award given by the United States congress to citizens who

represent the best characteristics of the American people;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF

REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the members of

the New Mexico congressional delegation be requested to

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introduce legislation to award the congressional gold medal to

the men of the 200th coast artillery of the New Mexico

national guard; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be

transmitted to the members of the New Mexico congressional

delegation and to Governor Richardson.