Bill Text: TX HR1270 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: In memory of U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Richard "Dick" Cole and commemorating the 77th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-04-18 - Reported enrolled [HR1270 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HR1270-Introduced.html
Bill Title: In memory of U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Richard "Dick" Cole and commemorating the 77th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-04-18 - Reported enrolled [HR1270 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HR1270-Introduced.html
86R28090 BK-D | ||
By: Cyrier | H.R. No. 1270 |
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WHEREAS, April 18, 2019, marks 77 years since the daring | ||
World War II bombing mission known as the Doolittle Raid, and the | ||
anniversary comes only nine days after the passing of the raid's | ||
last surviving participant, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel | ||
(Ret.) Richard "Dick" Cole, on April 9 at the age of 103; and | ||
WHEREAS, Richard Eugene Cole was born in Dayton, Ohio, on | ||
September 7, 1915; as a boy, he became fascinated with flying after | ||
watching pilots take off from a nearby Army Air Corps test base, and | ||
he went on to enlist in the corps in November 1940 as a way of | ||
earning a living during the Great Depression; he completed his | ||
training and was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Group, serving in | ||
Pendleton, Oregon, and then in Columbia, South Carolina; and | ||
WHEREAS, In early February 1942, two months after the | ||
surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, then-Lieutenant Cole volunteered | ||
for a secret mission that was later revealed to be an act of | ||
retaliation against Japan; he and the 80 other men who were chosen | ||
for the raid were trained in isolation and knew little about the | ||
nature of the mission other than the considerable danger they | ||
faced; when the originally assigned copilot of then-Lieutenant | ||
Colonel Jimmy Doolittle fell ill, Lieutenant Cole was called upon | ||
to take his place; the long-awaited day arrived on April 18, when | ||
Lieutenant Cole's squadron of modified B-25 bombers took off from | ||
the aircraft carrier USS Hornet and set out en route to Tokyo; and | ||
WHEREAS, After completing their objectives, Lieutenant Cole | ||
and his fellow crewmen were forced to bail out over China; all | ||
survived, and Lieutenant Cole continued his service in the | ||
China-Burma-India theater; though the raid inflicted minimal | ||
damage, it gave a much-needed boost to American morale and struck a | ||
blow against Japan's perception of invincibility; in 1967, he | ||
retired from the U.S. Air Force as a lieutenant colonel, having | ||
received three Distinguished Flying Crosses, a Bronze Star, and an | ||
Air Force Commendation Medal; in 2014, he was presented with the | ||
Congressional Gold Medal at a ceremony at the White House; and | ||
WHEREAS, Lieutenant Colonel Cole moved to Texas, where he ran | ||
a citrus business for a time and eventually settled near the town of | ||
Comfort; he shared a long marriage with his wife, Lucia Martha Cole, | ||
and took pride in their five children; and | ||
WHEREAS, Dick Cole will forever be remembered for the role he | ||
played in one of the most legendary feats of World War II, one whose | ||
symbolic power helped to change the course of history, and his | ||
steadfast bravery continues to remain a source of inspiration to | ||
his fellow Americans; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Lieutenant Colonel | ||
Dick Cole and commemorate the 77th anniversary of the Doolittle | ||
Raid; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of | ||
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Dick Cole. |