October, 08 2009, 02:52pm EDT
House Unanimously Approves Honorary Citizenship for American Revolutionary War Hero
WASHINGTON
The House of Representatives today unanimously passed CongressmanKucinich's resolution, H. J. Res. 26, to grant Brigadier General CasimirPulaski honorary posthumous citizenship for his service during the AmericanRevolutionary War.
"Casimir Pulaski was one of the great heroes of the AmericanRevolution. He was a dedicated freedom fighter who deserves the highestrecognition the UnitedStates can give to an immigrant war hero. Iam honored to join with other Members of Congress to help enshrine his memorywith honorary posthumous citizenship," said Kucinich.
General Pulaski left his native Poland and fought on the side ofthe colonists against the British in the American Revolution. George Washingtonbestowed the rank of brigadier general on Pulaski, who organized a legion ofcavalry known as the Pulaski legion. Pulaski is credited with being the 'Fatherof the American Cavalry.'
He famously said, "I came here, where freedom is beingdefended, to serve it, and to live or die for it." After fighting bravelyat Brandywine and ejecting the British occupiers from Charleston,Brigadier General Pulaski was mortally wounded in Savannah, Georgiaand was taken aboard the American ship USS Wasp, where he died at sea onOctober 11, 1779.
Congress has previously granted honorary U.S. citizenship posthumously onlyfive times, most recently to the Marquis de Lafayette in 2002. Lafayette was a Frenchman who, like Pulaski, foughtcourageously on the side of Americaduring the Revolutionary War.
Kucinich first introduced this legislation in 2005. Asimilar bill introduced by Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) has previously beenapproved by the Senate.
Dennis Kucinich is an American politician. A U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1997 to 2013, he was also a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States in 2004 and 2008.
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