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SUBJ/DEPARTMENT OF NAVY 2023 ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE 
MONTH//

RMKS/1.  The Department of the Navy (DON) celebrates Asian American Pacific 
Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month during the month of May, acknowledging the 
contributions of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in 
defending America's freedom.  This year's theme, "Advancing Leaders through 
Opportunity," speaks to the responsibility, as a Nation, Navy, and Marine 
Corps to afford leadership and advancement opportunities for all individuals, 
including Asian American and Pacific Islanders, to further both individual 
professional goals and those of the DON in service to our Nation.
We commemorate those past and present leaders within the DON that owe their 
ancestry to the AAPI community, including but not limited to Major General 
William H. Seely III, USMC, and Captain Sunita L. Williams, USN (Ret.).  
Major General Seely, who graduated from The Basic School in 1989 and was born 
in Saigon, is the first Vietnamese-American general officer in the Marine 
Corps and currently our highest ranking general officer in service of AAPI 
descent.  Likewise, Captain Sunita Williams served overseas deployments to 
the Mediterranean, Red Sea and Persian Gulf in support of Desert Shield and 
Operation Provide Comfort.  Furthermore, after NASA accepted her as an 
Astronaut, she established a world record during International Space Station 
Expeditions 14-15 by completing 4 spacewalks totaling 50 hours and 40 
minutes, placing her second on the all-time U.S. women's endurance list.
During last year's AAPI Month, I had the pleasure of naming a future Arleigh 
Burke-Class guided missile destroyer after Fireman 2nd Class Telesforo de la 
Cruz Trinidad, the only Filipino in the U.S. Navy to be awarded the Medal of 
Honor.  This past January, we celebrated the future USS TELESFORO TRINIDAD 
(DDG 139) at the Capitol with the ship's sponsors, retired and active duty 
Service Members, senior executives, civilian employees and other leaders to 
recognize the growing accomplishments from the Filipino-American community 
and to honor the heroic actions of Fireman 2nd Class Trinidad.
As of December of last year, the Asian American and Pacific Islander 
community makes up more than 70,000 members of the DON's total force.  
Through empowering Sailors, Marines, and civilians everywhere, we reaffirm 
our culture of warfighting excellence as one founded upon strong leadership 
and treating each other with dignity and respect.  I encourage you to learn 
more about the cultural heritage and contributions of Asian Americans and 
Pacific Islanders to our Nation at https://asianpacificheritage.gov/.

2.  Released by the Honorable Carlos Del Toro Secretary of the Navy.

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