As our nation prepares to celebrate 250 years since its founding, the nearly quarter-million individuals who served in the Peace Corps are preparing to celebrate a key milestone that was launched 65 years ago, on Oct. 14.
In the early hours of Oct. 14, 1960, then candidate John F. Kennedy was seriously behind schedule, following a televised presidential debate earlier that evening. At approximately 2 a.m., the candidate arrived on the campus of the University of Michigan where he had been scheduled to speak hours earlier. Before retiring for the rest of evening, JFK and his team decided to stop by the steps of the Michigan Student Union.
To their surprise, 10,000 students and other supporters were there to greet the young candidate. It was at this point that President Kennedy delivered a few brief, impromptu remarks which included the following:
“How many of you who are going to be doctors, are willing to spend your days in Ghana? Technicians or engineers, how many of you are willing to work in the Foreign Service and spend your lives traveling around the world? On your willingness to do that, not merely to serve one year or two years in the service, but on your willingness to contribute part of your life to this country, I think will depend the answer (sic) whether a free society can compete. I think it can! And I think Americans are willing to contribute. But the effort must be far greater than we have ever made in the past.”
The next day – decades before the internet – students responded to Kennedy by circulating a petition which basically said if you give us the opportunity, we will answer your call to service. Less than five months later, President John F. Kennedy signed an Executive Order which established the Peace Corps. Four months after that, the very first Peace Corps Volunteers were training for assignments in Ghana, Tanganyika (now Tanzania) and Colombia.
If you go to the steps of the University of Michigan Student Union, you will see a circular medallion embedded in the steps that mark the spot where JFK issued his call to action. A plaque next to the doorway also notes the historic moment.
Since then, other testaments to the historical significance to the Peace Corps and its volunteers have emerged all around the country. Historical markers note some of the training sites for early volunteers, while other tributes in many forms are scattered across the country.
In our nation’s capital, a site is designated for a soon-to-be “Peace Corps Park,” to commemorate the historic significance of the Peace Corps as part of our nation’s story. Meanwhile, in southern Minnesota, work is also well underway for a “Peace Corps Plaza,” where volunteers will be honored for their service, as part of a larger “National Service Park.”
One of the most common statements made by individuals reflecting on their Peace Corps service is that it was one of the most important and transformative parts of their life. For the good of our nation and other nations around the world, I believe the Peace Corps has an important role to play in our future. Let us honor Peace Corps’ past, by protecting its future.
As a three-year Peace Corps veteran in Ghana (1971-72) and Burkina Faso (1972-74) – sworn in just 10 years after the first Ghana group – I strongly support the agency's legacy of nearly 250,000 volunteers since 1961. This transformative program has positively impacted millions worldwide, profoundly shaping my own life as the foundation for a 40-year career in international agricultural research and development.
As the Peace Corps' 65th anniversary gets underway, Congress can honor its history and those who forged it through bipartisan H.R. 5521, introduced by Reps. Betty McCollum (D-MN) and John Rutherford (R-FL). This bill awards a Congressional Gold Medal – the highest civilian honor – to past and present volunteers for their selfless service. I urge my representative, Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM), and Rep. Jeff Hurd (R-CO) to co-sponsor it.
This legislation serves not only to recognize the important and positive role played by Peace Corps volunteers as part of our American story. It also serves as a reminder that the Peace Corps remains active in approximately 60 nations, has goals for expansion over the next five years, and provides tremendous opportunities right now for citizens who have considered national service in the past.
Southwest Coloradans can support this legislation by contacting Rep. Hurd at hurd.house.gov and encourage his sponsorship of HB 5521.
Mick O’Neill of Farmington spent 20 years living and working in Ghana and Burkina Faso with the Peace Corps, followed by projects in Mali, Niger, Kenya, Rwanda, India, and Colombia, and another 20 years at New Mexico State University's Agricultural Science Center in Farmington.
