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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 30

Expressing the sense of the Congress that the President should award the

Presidential Medal of Freedom to Martha Raye.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 27, 1993

Mr. MCNULTY submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was

referred to the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress that the President

should award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Martha Raye.

Whereas Martha Raye, born Margaret Yvonne Theresa Reed

of Butte, Montana, and known affectionately by our Vietnam veterans as ‘‘Colonel Maggie’’, has been a source of

comfort, inspiration, and joy for 3 generations of American service men and women at war;

Whereas during World War II Martha Raye entertained our

troops as a USO trouper at many disparate fronts, including Pearl Harbor, North Africa, Europe, the South

Pacific, and continued such service even after being

stricken with yellow fever;

Whereas during the Korean war Martha Raye was with our

troops, entertaining them and administering to our
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wounded, even though she had her own weekly television

show for much of that time;

Whereas during the Vietnam War Martha Raye devoted 3 to

6 months of each year to be with our young men and

women in Vietnam, providing them with respite and relief

from the terrible stress and isolation of war, and preferring to visit, without entourage, the most remote camps

and outposts, often at great personal risk;

Whereas Martha Raye was twice wounded while visiting

troops in Vietnam and received 2 Purple Hearts;

Whereas during her many stays with our troops in Vietnam

Martha Raye continually found herself under enemy fire,

and she showed herself to be possessed of considerable

nursing skills by administering to the wounded, be they

American or Vietnamese, soldier or civilian;

Whereas Martha Raye delivered countless letters from both

our troops in Vietnam to their families back home, and

letters from families to their sons and daughters in the

field, including hand-delivering almost 300 letters in

1969;

Whereas Martha Raye offered the hospitality of her own

home in California as a temporary home to scores of GI’s

on their return from Vietnam;

Whereas during the Vietnam War Martha Raye was ‘‘adopted’’ by the elite United States Special Forces and ‘‘commissioned’’ as an honorary lieutenant colonel, the first

and possibly only woman authorized to wear the prized

Green Beret, and the Green Beret she was given is presently on display at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare

Museum, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina;
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Whereas during the Vietnam War Martha Raye was also

adopted by the elite United States Marines and ‘‘commissioned’’ as honorary colonel;

Whereas Martha Raye, despite her show business persona, is

a jealously private person who scrupulously avoided

media coverage in Vietnam, causing the public to be unaware of the full extent of her commitment to our service

men and women and her sacrifice of her career and personal life on their behalf; and

Whereas Martha Raye is truly both an unsung hero and a

national treasure: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—

3 (1) the President should award the Presidential

4 Medal of Freedom to Martha Raye in honor of her

5 meritorious service to the United States; and

6 (2) the Clerk of the House of Representatives

7 shall transmit a copy of this resolution to Martha

8 Raye.

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