HR 9089

1	House Resolution
2	A resolution designating March 2009 as "Hellenic History
3	Month" in Florida.
4
5	WHEREAS, the ancient Greeks established the Olympic Games
6	and developed the concept of democracy, in which the supreme
7	power to govern was vested in the people, and
8	WHEREAS, the Founding Fathers of the United States drew
9	heavily on the political experience and philosophy of ancient
10	Greece in forming our representative democracy, and those and
11	other ideals have forged a close bond between our two nations
12	and their peoples, and
13	WHEREAS, George Washington, the first President of the
14	United States, sought to have our nation's capitol represent a
15	modern day Olympus, and
16	WHEREAS, the frescoes of the Capitol Building Rotunda are
17	adorned with the founders of the United States standing
18	alongside the mythic figures of the Hellenic enlightenment, and
19	WHEREAS, Solon of Athens and Lycurgus of Sparta are two of
20	the twenty three celebrated law givers with reliefs that adorn
21	the legislative chamber of the United States House of
22	Representatives in honor of their constitutional reforms that
23	led to the creation of governmental checks and balances, which
24	inspired the American founding fathers in the creation of the
25	checks and balances within the government of the United States
26	of America, and
27	WHEREAS, on March 25th, 1821, the Greek flag was raised at
28	the monastery of Agia Lavras, marking the beginning of the War
29	for Greek Independence, and
30	WHEREAS, many Americans fought alongside the Greeks during
31	their struggle for independence and stirring speeches by
32	President James Monroe and Daniel Webster led the Congress to
33	send funds and supplies to aid the Greeks in their campaign for
34	freedom, which continued until 1829 when Greek independence was
35	achieved and the 400-year occupation ended, and
36	WHEREAS, Greek Commander-in-Chief Petros Mavromichalis, a
37	founder of the modern Greek State, said to the citizens of the
38	United States in 1821, "it is in your land that liberty has
39	fixed her abode . . . in imitating you, we shall imitate our
40	ancestors and be thought worthy of them if we succeed in
41	resembling you," and
42	WHEREAS, in 1891, Loukas Miltiades Miller was the first
43	American of Greek origin to be elected to the Congress of the
44	United States of America, and
45	WHEREAS, the story of Greek military tactics used at the
46	Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. is still mandatory reading at the
47	National War College in Washington, D.C., and
48	WHEREAS, Greek soldiers were with the United States Marines
49	on the shores of Tripoli in the military operations memorialized
50	in the Marines' Hymn, the official hymn of the United States
51	Marine Corps, and
52	WHEREAS, General John Pershing listed George Dilboy, the
53	first American of Greek descent to be awarded the Medal of
54	Honor, as one of the ten greatest heroes of the World War I, and
55	WHEREAS, Greece gave the United States and the Allies our
56	first military victory of World War II when the Greek Army
57	defeated the Fascists in defense of Greece, and
58	WHEREAS, Greece is one of only three nations in the world,
59	beyond the former British Empire, that has been allied with the
60	United States in every major international conflict of the
61	twentieth century, including the Balkan Wars, World War I, World
62	War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and Operation Desert
63	Storm, and
64	WHEREAS, Greece played a major role in the struggle to
65	protect freedom and democracy during World War II, through such
66	bravery as was shown in the historic Battle of Crete and in
67	presenting the Axis land war with its first major setback, and
68	WHEREAS, Sir Winston Churchill said of the Greeks after
69	this fighting, "Hence we will not say that Greeks fight like
70	heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks," and
71	WHEREAS, Greece gave the Free World its first military
72	victory over communism after World War II when it defeated the
73	communist insurgency with the aid of American Army Advisors, and
74	WHEREAS, the first Greek colonists arrived on the shores of
75	Florida on June 26, 1768, and established their new lives in the
76	city of Saint Augustine, and
77	WHEREAS, in the 1880's, Greek immigrants infused the city
78	of Tarpon Springs with their rich culture and values, NOW,
79	THEREFORE,
80
81	Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of
82	Florida:
83
84	That the Florida House of Representatives designates the
85	month of March 2009 as "Hellenic History Month" in Florida.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.