Bill Text: TX HR192 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Recognizing World War II veteran Willis Thomas Jones Jr. of Baytown for his service to his country and his community.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2015-03-01 - Reported enrolled [HR192 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-HR192-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 192 |
|
||
WHEREAS, Dr. Willis Thomas Jones Jr. of Baytown is deserving | ||
of highest commendation for the valiant service he rendered to his | ||
state and his nation during World War II; and | ||
WHEREAS, Dr. Jones enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces in | ||
November 1941, just one month prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl | ||
Harbor; he attended flight school and graduated from Armor School | ||
in April 1942, at which time he was commissioned a second | ||
lieutenant; shortly thereafter, he was assigned to one of the first | ||
B-17 bomber groups to head to England for the war; in the fall of | ||
1942, his unit was detached from the VIII Bomber Command in England | ||
and sent to serve in the North African campaign, which culminated in | ||
the surrender of the Axis forces under General Erwin Rommel in May | ||
1943; Dr. Jones was subsequently assigned to the 15th Air Force and | ||
based in Italy, where he arrived on December 25, 1943; after flying | ||
numerous missions as a gunner, he assumed the role of bombardier; | ||
and | ||
WHEREAS, On July 26, 1944, while Dr. Jones was flying his | ||
45th combat mission of the war, his bomber squadron was attacked by | ||
a group of German fighters over Vienna, Austria; the assault | ||
destroyed his plane and killed the crew's pilot, copilot, and | ||
engineer, but Dr. Jones was able to bail out of the aircraft at | ||
22,000 feet, after all remaining crew members had ejected; although | ||
miraculously unharmed, he was quickly captured by enemy forces and | ||
taken to the Stalag Luft I prisoner of war camp near Barth, Germany; | ||
there, he endured several months of imprisonment, until the camp | ||
was liberated by Russian forces in May 1945; Dr. Jones was | ||
discharged from the military with the rank of major in 1946; and | ||
WHEREAS, Following his return home to the Lone Star State, | ||
W. T. Jones married his wife, Ada Mae, on August 25, 1945, and the | ||
couple has since shared nearly seven rewarding decades together; | ||
Dr. Jones went on to attend medical school from 1946 to 1950, and he | ||
enjoyed a long and successful career in Baytown until his | ||
retirement in 1985; and | ||
WHEREAS, Dr. W. T. Jones embodies the highest ideals of the | ||
U.S. armed forces and deserves the lasting respect and gratitude of | ||
all Americans, and it is a privilege to commend him for his | ||
outstanding contributions to his country and his community; now, | ||
therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby honor Dr. Willis Thomas Jones Jr. for his brave | ||
and steadfast service in this nation's behalf; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for Dr. Jones as an expression of high regard by the Texas | ||
House of Representatives. | ||
Smith | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 192 was adopted by the House on | ||
February 19, 2015, by a non-record vote. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||