HR456: Commending the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 456

Offered February 22, 2019
Commending the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.
Patron-- Carter

Unanimous consent to introduce

WHEREAS, the Second Spanish Republic was the legitimate, elected government of Spain in 1936; and

WHEREAS, on July 17, 1936, a coup was undertaken by forces loyal to General Francisco Franco, leading to three years of bloody civil war; and

WHEREAS, Franco’s forces were supported by Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler; and

WHEREAS, at the end of that civil war, Franco’s forces implemented a fascist dictatorship in Spain; and

WHEREAS, volunteers from many nations traveled to Spain to combat Franco’s forces and defend the civil and human rights of the Spanish people against the existential threat of the evils of fascism throughout that civil war; and

WHEREAS, those volunteers organized a militia known as the International Brigades, which included a unit of American volunteers known as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade; and

WHEREAS, the Abraham Lincoln Brigade was the first known military unit composed primarily of American citizens to be fully racially integrated; and

WHEREAS, ten Virginians were known to be among the volunteers in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, by the House of Delegates, That the bravery and valor of Hilliard Edgar Bernstein of Richmond be commended; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, by the House of Delegates, That the bravery and valor of Richard Cloke of Hampton be commended; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, by the House of Delegates, That the bravery and valor of Oscar Hunter of Hampton be commended; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, by the House of Delegates, That the bravery and valor of Hunter Archibald James, Jr., of Big Stone Gap be commended; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, by the House of Delegates, That the bravery and valor of Edward Johnson of Lynchburg be commended; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, by the House of Delegates, That the bravery and valor of James Hamilton Martin of Tazewell be commended; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, by the House of Delegates, That the bravery and valor of Crawford Morgan of Norfolk be commended; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, by the House of Delegates, That the bravery and valor of Claude Pringle of Halifax be commended; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, by the House of Delegates, That the bravery and valor of James Bernard Rucker of Roanoke be commended; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, by the House of Delegates, That the bravery and valor of Vernon Snow of Natural Bridge be commended; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, by the House of Delegates, That the bravery and valor of all volunteers to the Abraham Lincoln Bridge and the International Brigades be commended; and, be it

RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives, as an expression of the House of Delegates’ respect and admiration for those who volunteered to fight against fascism in Spain.