Governor Proclaims African American Military and Veteran Lineage Day 2023

WHEREAS, each February during National Black History Month, we remember the African American military service members who came before us and honor those who continue to serve in our nation’s armed forces; and

WHEREAS, North Carolina’s African American community has shouldered an enormous share of the burden of battle in numerous American military engagements, donning our nation’s military uniforms to answer the call of duty; and

WHEREAS, we remember soldiers like Captain Frederick C. Branch from Hamlet, a Montford Point Marine and the first African American Commissioned Officer in the United States Marine Corps; Lieutenant William McBryar from Elizabethtown, the second African American from North Carolina to be awarded the Medal of Honor; Technical Sergeant John Davis (JD) Lewis from Raleigh, a Montford Point Marine and the first African American broadcaster for WRAL and North Carolina; Gunnery Sergeant Francis Marion Hooper, Jr. from Laurinburg, a Montford Point Marine and Congressional Gold Medal Recipient; and Gunnery Sergeant Robert Lee Thomas from Durham, a Montford Point Marine and a Congressional Gold Medal recipient; and

WHEREAS, these and countless other African Americans from North Carolina have triumphed over oppression and injustice to make contributions, not only to our state’s military history, but to our American history, and deserve to have their stories told; and

WHEREAS, in 2019, the North Carolina Department of Military and Veteran Affairs joined forces with the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, North Carolina State Archives, the North Carolina Museum of History, and the North Carolina Humanities Council to collect and amplify these stories as part of the African American Military and Veterans Lineage Project; and

WHEREAS, the service and sacrifice these brave individuals gave to our country continues to impact the generations that have followed them, and the State of North Carolina is proud to recognize them as our own; and

WHEREAS, each of the individuals has served with honor and distinction over a lifetime that brought the highest credit to themselves, their respective branch of service, and the great State of North Carolina;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim February 9, 2023, as “AFRICAN AMERICAN MILITARY AND VETERAN LINEAGE DAY” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.