Matt Louis Urban Resolutions in State Legislatures

Polish American Congress draws up and proposes passage of concurrent Matt Louis Urban Resolutions in the State Legislatures of Michigan and New York and by extension, in the United States Congress as Well.

Apart from sustaining the collection of signatures on petitions addressed to the United States Postal Service, Vice President for American Affairs Anthony J. Bajdek has added a new dimension of activity – engaging in related state and federal legislative activity -- thereby intensifying the Polish American Congress national campaign for issuance of a commemorative stamp honoring the memory of Matt Louis Urban (changed from Urbanowicz).

To this end, Dean Bajdek drafted a Matt Urban Resolution and enlisted the services of New York PAC National Directors Teresa K. Bunk (President of the Central District of NY PAC), Frank Milewski (President of the Downstate NY PAC), and Richard Solecki (President of the Western NY PAC), along with Carl A. Urban and Joseph Macielag, and in Michigan, with Jerry Surowiec to a very great extent, and MI PAC Vice President Henrietta Nowakowski, all of whom pledged themselves to work with their state legislatures for sponsorship and passage of concurrent Matt Urban Joint Resolutions that in effect will compel the United States Postal Service to issue the long-awaited Matt Urban commemorative stamp.

At the same time, Bajdek will work to identify likely members of the United States Congress to sponsor and support passage of a similar Resolution, thereby placing heavy pressure on the Postal Service not to delay rectifying its error of 1999 that perpetuated the mistaken idea that Audie Murphy of post-World War II Hollywood fame is alone America’s most decorated combat hero of that War.

The fact of the matter is that – according to the Total Army Personnel Command in Arlington, Virginia, and the Arlington National Cemetery as well -- both Urban and Murphy are tied in the number of decorations earned, with the Congressional Medal of Honor included.

If and when sponsors of the Resolution stand forth in the United States Congress, Dean Bajdek will turn over to their authority the entire collection of some 70,000 signatures and many letters – some written by men who had either served under Matt Urban’s command during the War or in the U.S. 9th Infantry Division with him. He will take that action because of several complaints from individuals who collected considerable signatures on their own and sent them to the Postal Service, only to discover that the Postal Service allegedly discarded them after determining Urban unqualified for commemorative stamp recognition. One merely has to read the record, as elaborated in the Resolution, to understand that Urban is as equally qualified, if not more so (one need only compare their respective Congressional Medal of Honor citations to confirm this latter point), as Audie Murphy who had been commemorated with a stamp.

The Matt Urban Resolution reads as follows:

WHEREAS, Matt Louis Urban (1919-1995), a native of the state of New York and later a long-time resident of the state of Michigan, earned the singular distinction of sharing recognition for being one of our nation’s two highest decorated combat soldiers during World War II; and

WHEREAS, His shared singular distinction was based on at least four extraordinary acts of bravery above and beyond the call of duty in battles that occurred on French soil first in Renouf, then near Orglandes, then at Saint Lo, and finally, near Heer, Belgium at the Meuse River, during the period from June 14, 1944 through September 3, 1944 as described in his Congressional Medal of Honor citation; and

WHEREAS, The records of his battlefield feats of heroism and inspirational combat leadership – having been lost in Washington, DC for some 35 years – delayed formal, public acknowledgement of his fame until 1980 when President Jimmy Carter presented him the Congressional Medal of Honor, citing his “personal leadership, limitless bravery, and repeated extraordinary exposure to enemy fire” during the aforesaid battles; and

WHEREAS, The near-paralyzing neck wound that Matt Louis Urban suffered during his final battle earning him his 7th Purple Heart required nearly two years of reconstructive surgery to his vocal chords thereby causing him to concentrate on rehabilitation rather than combat notoriety and peacetime fame during the outpouring of public accolades directed to our nation’s combat veterans in the press, tabloid, and entertainment industry following the end of the War; and

WHEREAS, In 1999, the United States Postal Service honored the second combat hero – Audie Murphy of post-War Hollywood fame -- sharing the singular distinction for being one of our nation’s two most decorated combat heroes of World War II by including him in a commemorative stamp; therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED, That the legislature of the state of Michigan acting concurrently with the legislature of the state of New York, by way of this Joint Resolution of both houses of the legislature, respectfully directs the United States Postal Service to redress its partial recognition in identifying the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II by issuing a commemorative stamp honoring the worthy, shared singular distinction equally earned by Matt Louis Urban; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the United States Postal Service perform this necessary action expeditiously, both in the spirit of good will and of portraying accurately an historical aspect of World War II currently exemplified in other examples by way of Ken Burns’ acclaimed PBS documentary, The War, which not only serves to entertain but also, most importantly, educate our fellow Americans about the facts of our no-longer recent past, and its “Greatest Generation”, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED AS WELL, That duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by the and attested by the Clerk thereof, shall be transmitted to the Postmaster-General of the United States, the “Citizens’ Stamp Committee of the United States Postal Service”, and to all members of the Michigan and New York Congressional delegations in Washington, D.C.