Airmen stand at attention during a retreat ceremony March 30, 2018, on Kadena Air Base, Japan. (Staff Sgt. Micaiah Anthony/Air Force)
The Manuel L. Quezon Post 603 had another good year in drafting resolutions for the California Legislature. Post 603 then collaborated with the other veterans service organizations in Vallejo – www.VallejoVetsBuilding.org and www.VallejoNavyLeague.org – in getting the bills approved or chaptered in 2022:
On August 18, Assembly Concurrent Resolution-205 was passed and it designates Women Veterans Recognition Day. This was introduced by Assemblywoman Lori Wilson, and it recognizes the 2,000,000 women Veterans in the United States and abroad, and the 163,000 women Veterans in California. It also acknowledges that women are the fastest growing group in the veteran population, as they account for approximately 10 percent of the overall veteran population today, and it is projected that women will make up 18 percent of the veteran population by 2040.
On August 30, Senate Concurrent Resolution-111 was passed and it designates the interchange of Interstate 80 and Interstate 780 in Vallejo as the Congressional Gold Medal Memorial Interchange. This was introduced by State Senator Bill Dodd, and it will honor all the Congressional Gold Medal recipients from General George Washington to the African American “Hidden Figures” NASA mathematicians and engineers, and various other warriors, including the Native American Code Talkers, Tuskegee Airmen, Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II, Japanese American 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Montford Point Marines, Hispanic 65th Infantry Regiment, Filipino Veterans of World War II, and the Chinese American Veterans of World War II, and others.”
On August 31, Assembly Concurrent Resolution-187 was passed and it designates the rest area on Interstate 80 in Vallejo as the Medal of Honor Safety Roadside Rest Area. This was introduced by Assemblyman Tim Grayson, and it will honor the Medal of Honor recipients who were born, entered service, had their last home of record, settled, died, or buried in Vallejo, including James Cooney, William Halford, Alexander Parker, Richard D. Dunphy, William S. Bond, Patrick J. Burke, George Carter, Anund C. Roark, Robert H. Young, John O. Dahlgren, Frank A. Young, Johan Johansson, Richard Willis, Henry Thompson, Reinhardt J. Keppler, William Johnson, and Thomas Lakin.
Earlier in 2022, Assembly Members Grayson and Wilson, and Senator Dodd also cosponsored Assembly Joint Resolution-31 which urged the Secretary of the Navy to name a Navy surface combatant ship after United States Navy Fireman Second Class Telesforo Trinidad. On May 19, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced that a future Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer will be named after USS Telesforo Trinidad (DDG 139). These were a direct result of the resolutions passed in 2021 by our Department and National per https://calegion.org/name-us-navy-ship-after-telesforo-trinidad/ and https://archive.legion.org/handle/20.500.12203/15020
The complete text of those bills can be found at https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/home.xhtml
Author: Nestor Aliga
Nestor Aliga was born in the Philippines and migrated to Vallejo, CA in 1967. He was in the US Marine Corps from 1974 to 1976 then in the US Army from 1976 to 2008. He is a life-member of the Big-Three, www.CALEGION.org, www.VFWCA.org, and www.DAVCAL.org.
