,i  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #eeba  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,september #ah1      
#bjbc,ms4 ,escobar 7for herself1 ,mr4   
,castro of ,texas1 and ,mr4 ,vargas7    
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on ,armed   
,services  ,a ,,bill  ,to authorize the 
,president to posthumously award the    
,medal of ,honor to ,marcelino ,serna   
for acts of valor as a private in the   
,army during ,world ,war ,i4  #a4       
,findings ,congress finds the following3
 7#a7 ,military service is one of the   
most admired and respected vocations any
 one can embark upon knowing that their 
commitment is to something far greater  
than oneself1 and we value such military
 service because it is dedicated to     
upholding1 defending1 and preserving the
 constitution4  7#b7 ,while historically
 many were drafted into service before  
the military became an all-volunteer    
service in #aigc1 there were still      
individuals who volunteered to serve    

without being drafted1 and people of all
 walks of life1 including new           
immigrants1 have sought to demonstrate  
their love1 commitment1 and loyalty to  
this country by volunteering their lives
 to service4  7#c7 ,private ,marcelino  
,serna was one such immigrant seeking to
 demonstrate his love1 commitment1 and  
loyalty to his country2 born in         
,chihuahua1 ,mexico1 ,private ,serna is 
part of a legacy of immigrant soldiers  
fighting for the ,united ,states1 eager 
to pursue the ,american ,dream2 in      
#aiag1 without hesitation1 he           
volunteered to serve in the ,u4,s4      
,armed ,forces against ,germany at the  
age of #bj4  7#d7 ,private ,serna was   
placed in the #ceeth ,infantry of the   
#hith ,division1 and upon his arrival in
 ,france1 when it was discovered that he
 was not a ,u4,s4 citizen1 he was given 
the option to return home1 however1     
,private ,serna made the valiant        
decision to serve the ,united ,states1  
his adoptive home4  7#e7 ,in recognition

 of his courageous actions1 ,private    
,serna became the most decorated ,world 
,war ,i veteran in ,texas1 with awards  
from the ,united ,states1 ,france1      
,italy and the ,united ,kingdom1 which  
include3 the ,world ,war ,i ,victory    
,medal1 two ,purple ,hearts1 the ,french
 ,medaille ,militaire1 two ,french      
,croix de ,guerre1 a ,french ,medaille  
commemorative1 the ,british ,war ,medal1
 the ,italian ,croce al ,merito di      
,guerra1 the ,french ,verdun1 and the   
,st4 ,mihiel ,medals1 as well as being  
posthumously awarded ,texas' ,lone ,star
 ,medal of ,valor in #bjaf4  7#f7 ,the  
aforementioned awards recognize ,private
 ,serna's demonstrated bravery and      
remarkable service to his country in    
,world ,war ,i1 during which time1 as   
detailed in the military's official     
citation for his receipt of the         
,distinguished ,service ,cross and in   
the ,texas ,handbook ,online1 ,private  
,serna singlehandedly fought1 killed1   
and captured enemy fighters in the      

,french theater4  7#g7 ,white           
contemporaries of ,private ,serna who   
engaged in similar courageous acts      
during ,world ,war ,i have been         
rightfully recognized for their valor   
with the ,medal of ,honor2 however      
,private ,serna was reportedly passed   
over for the ,medal of ,honor because he
 did not know enough ,english to be     
promoted4  7#h7 ,on ,may #g1 #bjba1     
recognizing that acts of valor performed
 by minority service members like       
,private ,serna have gone unrecognized1 
a bipartisan ,texas ,state ,house and   
,senate ,committee voted to unanimously 
award ,private ,serna the ,texas        
,legislative ,medal of ,honor4  7#i7    
,for his conspicuous gallantry1         
unwavering commitment1 and heroic       
actions above and beyond the call of    
duty to the ,united ,states of ,america1
 ,private ,marcelino ,serna has long    
earned the ,medal of ,honor1 an award   
that would allow his descendants1 fellow
 ,texans1 and ,americans everywhere to  

recognize his heroic deeds4  #b4        
,authorization for award of the ,medal  
of ,honor to ,marcelino ,serna for acts 
of valor during ,world ,war ,i  7a7     
,authorization ,notwithstanding the time
 limitations specified in section #gbgd 
of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 or 
any other time limitation with respect  
to the awarding of certain medals to    
persons who served in the ,armed        
,forces1 the ,president may posthumously
 award the ,medal of ,honor under       
section #gbgb of such title to          
,marcelino ,serna for the acts of valor 
described in the subsection 7b74  7b7   
,acts of valor described ,the acts of   
valor described in this subsection are  
the actions of ,marcelino ,serna as a   
private in the ,army during ,world ,war 
,i1 for which he was previously awarded 
the ,distinguished-,service ,cross4