DAVENPORT, Iowa — Editor's Note: The video above aired Sept. 15, 2023.
The Davenport-based LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) Council 10 is inviting the public to a ceremony to mark the end of National Hispanic Heritage Month.
The month runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 and celebrates the history and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.
The observation was enacted into law on August 17, 1988, by President Ronald Reagan.
The Davenport branch will hold its ceremony at the LULAC Center at 4224 Ricker Hill Rd. in Davenport on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 11 a.m.
They will honor all men and women who have served and are serving in the Armed Forces, including Quad Cities first responders.
The keynote speaker is slated to be Command Sgt. Jorge Escobedo from the Rock Island Arsenal. All military branches will be honored with traditional floral wreaths.
Also scheduled to participate are the Mexican-American Veterans, Vietnam Veterans, VFW Ybarra Gomez Post 8890, Quad Cities Patriot Guard riders, and Iowa District-49 State Senator Cindy Winckler.
This year, LULAC will also honor the late U.S. Army 4-Star Gen. Richard Edward Cavazos.
Below is the biography that LULAC sent out via a press release:
Cavazos was a hero of the Korean and Vietnam wars. He was born on January 31, 1929, in Kingsville, TX., at the famous King Ranch where his father, a former WW1 veteran, was foreman of the King Ranch’s Santa Gertrudis division.
Graduating from Texas Technological College, now Texas Tech University, with a degree in geology and commissioned to the Army. After attending the Infantry Officer Basic Course and Airborne Training, 1st Lieutenant Cavazos was shipped to Korea. He became the platoon leader of E Company, 2nd Battalion, 65th Infantry Regiment. The unit was known as the “Borinqueneers”, the only regiment of all Hispanic soldiers from Puerto Rico who spoke Spanish. This regiment, during President Barack Obama’s administration, awarded the Borinqueneers the Presidential Gold Medal.
General Cavazos received his first Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second-highest military honor for valor actions at the closing days of the Korean War. After this war ended, between the 1950s and 1960s, he served as a student in several Army programs for officer development rising through the ranks and enhancing his skills. He returned to the ROTC program at Texas Tech for three years as a professor of Military Service.
When the Vietnam War began, Lt. Col. Cavazos was again in command of the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, he was awarded his 2nd Distinguished Service Cross, additionally, two Legions of Merit, a Silver Star, five Bronze Stars, a Purple Heart, and many other medals and awards for exceptional service in war and peace. He served the Army’s strategic branches at the Pentagon and as Defense Attache to the Embassy of Mexico.
As the first Hispanic-American promoted to brigadier general and continued to rise, General Cavazos commanded the 9th Infantry Division and III Corps in central Texas. In 1982, he became the first Hispanic-American 4-Star general with his final assignment as head of the U.S. Army Forces Command, fittingly summarized his career of service by placing him at the head of sustaining training and deploying of the Army’s deployed forces. He retired from the Army in 1984 after 33 years of service.
On May 9, 2023, a Fort Hood installation was redesignated to Fort Cavazos in his honor.
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