05/30/2022
LULAC JOINS WITH AMERICA IN HONORING OUR FALLEN MILITARY SERVICEMEMBERS
Nation’s Oldest and Largest Latino Civil Rights Organization Pauses to Remember Loved Ones and All Who Died Serving
Washington, DC - The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) pays solemn tribute on this Memorial Day to the courageous men and women who have died while serving their country in the military.
For Maggie Rivera, Illinois LULAC State Director, today she remembers and honors the memory of her nephew, who was serving as a Sergeant in the U.S. Marines. His name was Jorge Omar Rodriguez Saucedo, and he was assigned to protect the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador. One week before finishing his second enlistment, Saucedo was killed. He was only 27.
“LULAC is blessed to be a family of so many servicemen and women and their loved ones, so we understand and support one another during times of loss and healing,” says Roman Palomares, LULAC Veterans Affairs Committee Chair. “On Memorial Day, there is a good chance that we each know and recall someone who has died in the military, and silently, we say a prayer of remembrance and gratitude for their service.”
Memorial Day is officially observed on the last Monday in May when flowers are blooming everywhere. Initially, the country celebrated Decoration Day, and in 1967, Congress changed it to Memorial Day. Then, in 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday. An estimated 651,000 Americans have died in military conflicts since WWI, and more than 1.2 million, including the Civil War between Union and Confederate troops.
LULAC remembers and pays tribute to the memory of U.S. Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen whose tragic death on April 20, 2020, at Ft. Hood, Texas, ignited a national outcry over conditions many servicemembers are facing, including military sexual trauma (MST). Her death mobilized a movement to improve conditions in the U.S. Army and led to the passage of the Vanessa Guillen Act, which will help protect men and women in military uniform for years to come.
So too, we recall and pay respects to Brandon Caserta, a naval squadron flight electrician. He had been chronically bullied and abused by a toxic command that denied his requests for mental health services. He died by su***de in June 2018 on the flight line of his helicopter squadron in Norfolk. His death led his parents to write the Brandon Act, which was successfully passed with bipartisan support in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. President Biden signed the measure as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2022-2023.
