IV
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 Mar-
tha Raye.
Whereas Martha Raye, born Margaret Yvonne Theresa Reed
of Butte, Montana, and known affectionately by our Viet-
nam veterans as ‘‘Colonel Maggie’’, has been a source of
comfort, inspiration, and joy for 3 generations of Amer-
ican service men and women at war;
Whereas during World War II Martha Raye entertained our
troops as a USO trouper at many disparate fronts, in-
cluding 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 prefer-
ring 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 ‘‘adopt-
ed’’ by the elite United States Special Forces and ‘‘com-
missioned’’ 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 pres-
ently 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 ‘‘commis-
sioned’’ 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 un-
aware of the full extent of her commitment to our service
men and women and her sacrifice of her career and per-
sonal life on their behalf; and
Whereas Martha Raye is truly both an unsung hero and a
national treasure: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—
(1) the President should award the Presidential
Medal of Freedom to Martha Raye in honor of her
meritorious service to the United States; and
(2) the Clerk of the House of Representatives
shall transmit a copy of this resolution to Martha
Raye.
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