Durbin Sponsors Joint Resolution to Grant Posthumous Honorary Citizenship t Casimir Pulaksi
DURBIN SPONSORS JOINT RESOLUTION TO GRANT POSTHUMOUS HONORARY CITIZENSHIP TO CASIMIR PULAKSI
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced he has introduced legislation in the Senate to proclaim Casimir Pulaski to be an honorary citizen of the United States. Pulaski, a Polish military officer who fought on the side of America during the Revolutionary War, died during a battle in Savannah, Georgia, in October of 1779.
After coming to America, he wrote to George Washington, "I came here, where freedom is being defended, to serve it, and to live or die for it."
"Casimir Pulaski made the ultimate sacrifice in pursuit of American freedom," Durbin said. "When we think of our nation's struggle for freedom in its early years, we also must think of Casimir Pulaski and his brave contributions to our nation's birth."
Benjamin Franklin encountered Pulaski while in Paris and recommended that Washington accept Pulaski as a volunteer in the in the American Calvary. Washington elevated Pulaski to Brigadier General of the American Cavalry on September 15, 1777just four days after Pulaski saved Washington's life and averted defeat at the Battle of Brandywine. In 1779, he fought the British in Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. It was as a result of his actions in Savannah that he died.
Pulaski has been honored throughout our nation's history. In September, 1929, Congress designated October 11 as Pulaski Day to be observed by Presidential Proclamation; it also authorized the Post Office to issue a Pulaski commemorative stamp. In 1973, Illinois designated the first Monday of March as Pulaski Commemorative day in Illinois and in 1986 declared the day to be a state holiday.
An identical measure introduced in the House of Representatives has 22 co-sponsors, including the following Illinois members: Dan Lipinski, Rahm Emanuel, John Shimkus, Jerry Costello, Jan Schakowsky and Luis Gutierrez. This Joint Resolution would need to pass the House and Senate, as well as be signed by the President, to grant Pulaski posthumous honorary citizenship.
Only six people have ever been declared honorary citizens of the United States. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was the first in 1963 and Marquis de la Fayette, a Frenchman who supported the American Revolution, was the last in 2002. The others were Swedish diplomat and Holocaust hero Raoul Wallenberg in 1981, Pennsylvania co-founder and governor William Callowhill Penn and his wife Hannaha Pennsylvania administratorin 1984, and Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiubetter known as Mother Teresain 1996.
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