on October 26 when he addressed the UN in Spanish; he was the first US representative to speak before the UN in a language other than English. Starting in 1968, Dr. García and other members of AGIF began accompanying families of fallen soldiers to the airport to collect their sons' bodies when they were returned from Vietnam. He would often eulogize the soldier and never refused a request to speak at any funeral. In the same year, President Johnson appointed García to the US Commission on Civil Rights. In 1972, Dr. García was arrested at a sit-in protest of the de facto segregation in Corpus Christi school district. He consulted with President Carter several times during the 1970s. In 1987, he became involved in the struggle against the campaign to designated English as the only official language of the US; the rate of Hispanic and Latino immigration to the country had increased, bringing many new Spanish speakers. His final project was to improve the standard of living in the colonias in the Rio Grande Valley along the US–Mexico border. Death García died July 26, 1996, in Corpus Christi, Texas, at age 82. He was buried at Seaside Memorial Park in Corpus Christi. President Bill Clinton presented a eulogy for him. Honors and awards Dr. García received numerous awards from various governments and other organizations during his lifetime. They include: The US Army's Bronze Star Medal, the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with six bronze stars, and the World War II Victory Medal, 1942–1946 AGIF's Medalla al Merito, 1952, for his work with Mexican-American veterans National Coordinator and National Organizer of the "Viva Kennedy" clubs, 1960 Representative of President John F. Kennedy and member of the American Delegation signing treaty concerning Mutual Defense Area Agreement between the US and the Federation of the West Indies, 1961 Appointed as presidential representative with the rank of Special Ambassador to the inauguration of Dr. Raul Leoni, President of Venezuela, 1964 Accompanied Vice-President Hubert H. Humphrey and the US Delegation for the signing of the Treaty of Tlatelolco in Mexico City, 1967 The Republic of Panama's Condecoracion, Orden Vasco Nunez de Balboa, with the rank of commander, 1965 The 8th US Marine Corps District honored him with a plaque in recognition of his service to the war deceased, 1967 A humanitarian award from the Corpus Christi chapter of the National Association for the Advancement