Medals of Honor Sought for 2 Blacks

Two congressmen who are working to have the first Medals of Honor awarded to a pair of black war heroes of World War I and World War II asked Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci today to waive the five-year statute of limitations on the award.

Reps. Joseph J. DioGuardi (R-N.Y.) and Mickey Leland (D-Tex.) sent a letter, co-signed by 102 of their colleagues, to Carlucci asking him to reverse the decision of his subordinates in the Army and Navy. The congressmen would like Carlucci to clear the way for the medals to be awarded to Sgt. Henry Johnson and Seaman Dorrie Miller.

Johnson, of Albany, N.Y., served in France during World War I, and Miller, of Waco, Tex., served aboard the West Virginia during World War II. Both are deceased.

“The basic issue here is fundamental justice,” DioGuardi said at a news conference today.

One and a half million black Americans fought for the United States during the two world wars, and while 549 Medals of Honor were awarded, not one went to a black serviceman, DioGuardi said.

“I think the next step at this point is to hope that Secretary Carlucci recognizes this is an oversight,” he said.

Last month, Army and Navy brass wrote to Rep. Les Aspin, (D-Wis.), who is chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, to voice their opposition to legislation that would allow the servicemen to be considered for the medal. The Army and Navy object because the statute of limitations for awarding the medals ran out long ago.