Congressman Bill Posey Salutes Medal of Honor Recipients

By  //  March 19, 2014

actions above and beyond the call of duty

MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Today 24 Army veterans became recipients of the Medal of Honor for actions above and beyond the call of duty in defense of our nation during their military service.

In 2002 Congress ordered a review of over 6,500 Distinguished Service Cross recipients to see if they qualified for an upgrade to Medal of Honor.

POSEY-BILL-180-34Among those determined to merit the nation’s highest military award is retired Sergeant First Class Melvin Morris of Port St. John, who served as a Special Forces soldier during the Vietnam War.

“It’s because of the courage of brave Americans like Melvin Morris that our freedom is secure and our nation has remained strong all these years. I’m proud to see that his service has been recognized by our nation,” said Congressman Bill Posey. “We owe our men and women in uniform, and their families, a huge debt of gratitude for their service and sacrifices for our nation.”

Also honored was Juan E. Negrón Martínez of Puerto Rico, who served with the 65th Infantry Regiment in Korea and became the first “Borinqueneer” to receive the Medal of Honor. The Borinqueneers were a segregated unit created by Congress in 1898 and went on to fight some of the toughest battles of the Korean War despite facing discrimination.

Congressman Posey has introduced bipartisan legislation to award the Borinqueneers the Congressional Gold Medal.

The legislation has gained the support of 298 cosponsors, crossing the 290 threshold needed to move the legislation forward. A bipartisan companion bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate and currently has 44 cosponsors.