Bill Text: TX HCR74 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Paying tribute to the sacrifice of U.S. Navy Seaman Johnnie David Hutchins during World War II and honoring his family.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 2)
Status: (Passed) 2017-05-04 - Signed by the Governor [HCR74 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HCR74-Enrolled.html
| H.C.R. No. 74 | ||
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| WHEREAS, During World War II, U.S. Navy Seaman First Class | ||
| Johnnie David Hutchins of Eagle Lake performed an extraordinary act | ||
| of heroism that cost him his life and earned him the Medal of Honor; | ||
| and | ||
| WHEREAS, Born in Weimar on August 4, 1922, to Johnnie Marion | ||
| and Callie Drue Hutchins, Johnnie David Hutchins worked with his | ||
| family as a sharecropper in the fields near Lissie while growing up; | ||
| he played on the Eagle Lake High School football team, and after | ||
| graduation, he found employment at the Parker Brothers shipyard in | ||
| Houston; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Answering his nation's call to duty, Mr. Hutchins | ||
| enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve in November 1942, and the | ||
| following year he became the helmsman of the USS LST-473, a landing | ||
| craft that was part of an amphibious force under the command of | ||
| General Douglas MacArthur off the coast of New Guinea; and | ||
| WHEREAS, On September 4, 1943, the LST-473 was one of six | ||
| landing craft approaching a Japanese-occupied beach under heavy | ||
| fire when Seaman Hutchins, at the helm, saw a Japanese torpedo | ||
| bearing down on his ship; before he could steer away from this | ||
| threat, two shells struck the landing craft, knocking him away from | ||
| the wheel and setting the pilot house on fire; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Already mortally wounded, Seaman Hutchins returned | ||
| to his post and steered his landing craft safely out of the path of | ||
| the torpedo; he died still clinging to the wheel, having devoted the | ||
| last moments of his life to saving the other men aboard the vessel; | ||
| he was exactly a month past his 21st birthday; and | ||
| WHEREAS, A year later, Seaman Hutchins was posthumously | ||
| awarded the nation's highest military award, the Medal of Honor, | ||
| and his family attended the christening of a ship named in his | ||
| honor, the USS Johnnie Hutchins; after the war, his body was | ||
| returned to Texas and buried in Eagle Lake, and on the 57th | ||
| anniversary of his death in 2000, a crowd of 300 people, including | ||
| former crew members of LST-473, gathered at his graveside for a | ||
| solemn ceremony; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Johnnie Hutchins demonstrated conspicuous bravery | ||
| above and beyond the call of duty, making the ultimate sacrifice to | ||
| save the lives of his comrades, and for this heroic act, Americans | ||
| owe him a debt of remembrance that the passage of time can never | ||
| diminish; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
| hereby pay tribute to U.S. Navy Seaman Johnnie David Hutchins and | ||
| honor his family for keeping alive the memory of this courageous | ||
| service member; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
| prepared for his family as an expression of high regard by the Texas | ||
| House of Representatives and Senate. | ||
| Stephenson | ||
| ______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
| President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
| I certify that H.C.R. No. 74 was adopted by the House on April | ||
| 6, 2017, by a non-record vote. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
| I certify that H.C.R. No. 74 was adopted by the Senate on | ||
| April 19, 2017, by a rising vote | ||
| . | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Secretary of the Senate | ||
| APPROVED: __________________ | ||
| Date | ||
| __________________ | ||
| Governor | ||
