A United States Navy ship that was going through a doable new title is conserving its id.
The USNS César Chavez will retain its title after Reps. Gil Cisneros and Sam Liccardo — each Democrats from California — wrote a letter final July to Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth, requesting the vessel not be renamed. Cisneros beforehand served as undersecretary of protection for personnel and readiness underneath former President Joe Biden.
“The Division of Protection has established clear standards for naming army property: take into account historic context, acknowledge nationwide service, and decrease value USNS César Chavez meets these requirements,” the letter reads. “In 1946, earlier than changing into probably the most consequential labor leaders in American historical past, César Chavez enlisted within the U.S. Navy at age 19 and was stationed within the Western Pacific. He served in a segregated unit, the place he, like many Mexican American servicemembers, quietly endured discrimination — an expertise that deepened his understanding of injustice and formed his lifelong struggle for dignity and equality.”
Chavez co-founded the Nationwide Farm Employees Union alongside Dolores Huerta and Gilbert Padilla. The union later joined forces with the Agricultural Employees Organizing Committee to develop into the United Farm Employees Labor Union.
In a written response, the Division of Protection mentioned there are “no plans to rename USNS César Chavez.”
“Uplifting the life and legacy of César Chavez shouldn’t be a partisan situation,” Cisneros mentioned in an announcement. “I am inspired that Secretary Hegseth and the Division of Protection heard our considerations and can protect the title of the USNS César Chavez. Mr. Chavez is an American hero who devoted his life to our nation, from the Navy to the labor motion. Sustaining his title on this ship is a strong reminder of his enduring legacy and the inspiration he offers to all who serve.”
“It is a win not just for the Latino group, and our veterans; it is a win for all People who imagine service, management, and sacrifice deserve honor, not erasure,” Liccardo added in his personal assertion. “César Chavez’s story and triumphant spirit mirror the very best of America, and I’m relieved to know his legacy will proceed to encourage those that serve our nation.”
Learn extra: US DOD Secretary Pete Hegseth orders USNS Harvey Milk renamed throughout Delight Month
“This response raises questions of what defines ‘warrior ethos,'” Liccardo’s assertion continued. “I welcome a response from Secretary Hegseth on why Bay Space hero and civil rights icon Harvey Milk’s legacy will not be preserved underneath the identical standards.”
The hassle to rename U.S. Navy vessels started in June, when it was introduced that the USNS Harvey Milk could be renamed. Harvey Milk was a Navy veteran, a homosexual rights advocate and the primary overtly homosexual man elected to public workplace in California.
Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell mentioned in an announcement on the time that the renaming underneath Secretary Hegseth “will assist spotlight the priorities of President Donald Trump.”
The USNS Harvey Milk — the one ship so far to be renamed underneath Hegseth’s renaming effort — was formally renamed in late June after Navy Chief Petty Officer Oscar V. Peterson, a World Warfare II Navy veteran who obtained the Medal of Honor and fought within the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942.
Different ships that got here up as presumably being renamed included:
- USNS Thurgood Marshall
- USNS Medgar Evers
- USNS Harriet Tubman
- USNS Dolores Huerta
- USNS Lucy Stone
- USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg
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