Bill Text: TX HCR164 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Directing the governor of the State of Texas to posthumously award the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor to First Lieutenant Andrew Jackson Lummus Jr.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-05-06 - Referred to Defense & Veterans' Affairs [HCR164 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HCR164-Introduced.html
86R20016 JGH-D | ||
By: Wray | H.C.R. No. 164 |
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WHEREAS, The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor was established | ||
to recognize gallant and intrepid service by a member of the state | ||
or federal military forces, and U.S. Marine Corps First Lieutenant | ||
Andrew Jackson Lummus Jr., who was killed in action in the Battle of | ||
Iwo Jima during World War II, proved himself a deserving recipient | ||
of this prestigious award; and | ||
WHEREAS, Jack Lummus was born in Ennis on October 22, 1915, | ||
and he grew up on his family's cotton farm during the Great | ||
Depression; a gifted athlete, he earned scholarships to Texas | ||
Military College and to Baylor University, where he played baseball | ||
and football for the Bears; in early 1941, he left college to enlist | ||
in the U.S. Army Air Corps but was given an honorable discharge when | ||
he failed to complete flight school; he then accepted an offer to | ||
play professional football with the New York Giants, and it was | ||
during the team's game on December 7, 1941, that he learned of the | ||
attack on Pearl Harbor; determined to serve his country, he | ||
enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, and after a series of training | ||
and duty assignments in the United States, he was deployed to the | ||
Pacific theater as an officer in the 2nd Battalion, 27th Marines, | ||
5th Marine Division; and | ||
WHEREAS, Lieutenant Lummus led his rifle platoon ashore at | ||
Iwo Jima as part of the initial contingent of marine forces to land | ||
on the island; on March 8, 1945, his unit advanced against a line of | ||
Japanese pillboxes along the island's rugged Nishi Ridge; moving | ||
ahead of his men under fierce enemy fire, he destroyed one pillbox | ||
with grenades even as he was wounded and knocked off his feet by a | ||
blast from an enemy grenade; undaunted, he eliminated a second | ||
pillbox and returned to his platoon before attacking and knocking | ||
out a third pillbox; he urged his fellow marines forward while | ||
continuing to fire into enemy foxholes with his carbine; and | ||
WHEREAS, This courageous Texan's one-man assault was ended | ||
when he stepped on a land mine; though he lost both of his legs in | ||
the explosion, he continued to shout to his men, "Don't stop now! | ||
Keep going!" and by nightfall, his unit had taken the ridge; | ||
Lieutenant Lummus died on the operating table in a field hospital | ||
and was buried in the Fifth Marine Division cemetery on the island; | ||
and | ||
WHEREAS, On May 30, 1946, First Lieutenant Jack Lummus was | ||
posthumously honored with the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest | ||
commendation for valor in combat, by President Harry S. Truman, and | ||
two years later, he was reinterred in his hometown cemetery; in the | ||
decades since, his heroism has been recognized many times; in 1986, | ||
the U.S. Navy named a ship after him, and that same year, Jack | ||
Lummus Memorial Park was dedicated in Ennis, where there is also an | ||
intermediate school that bears his name; his Medal of Honor | ||
citation is on display at Baylor University, and on October 11, | ||
2015, the New York Giants inducted him into the Ring of Honor at | ||
MetLife Stadium; and | ||
WHEREAS, During one of the most savage battles of World War | ||
II, First Lieutenant Jack Lummus demonstrated extraordinary | ||
bravery and leadership and made the ultimate sacrifice while | ||
defending our nation, and he is indeed deserving of this state's | ||
supreme military commendation; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
hereby direct the governor of the State of Texas to posthumously | ||
award the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor to Andrew Jackson Lummus | ||
Jr. in recognition of his valiant service during World War II. |