President Bill Clinton; Deputy Secretary of Defense, Dr. John White; Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General John Shalikashvili and a host of other
distinguished guests will honor soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast
Guardsmen for their outstanding service while deployed to Haiti during
Operation Uphold Democracy during a ceremony at Fort Polk, La. on Monday, March
18.
More than 240 representatives from all U.S. Military services will be
recognized in an 11 a.m. ceremony at Honor Field.
Operation Uphold Democracy, the U.S.-led, multinational effort to restore the
legitimate government of Haiti, created a safe and secure environment in the
Caribbean nation and assisted in the return of exiled President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide to Haiti. This operation was conducted under the operational control
of the United States Atlantic Command, headquartered in Norfolk, Va.
Beginning on September 19, 1994, more than 20,000 American service men and
women from all five services in conjunction with about 5,000 non-U.S. forces
from 24 nations, served as part of the Multinational Force and later the United
Nations Mission in Haiti. The Multinational Force transferred command to the
United Nations Mission in Haiti on March 31, 1995.
The ceremony will officially credit U.S. service members for successfully
ensuring the first Haitian transition of power between two democratically
elected presidents and providing a safe and secure environment in the midst of
a historically violent and unstable environment.
