Bill Text: TX HR235 | 2011 | 82nd Legislature 1st Special | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending Patrick M. Reilly and the other members of Chapter 1919 of the Military Order of the Purple Heart for their efforts to bring the Texas Capitol Vietnam War Monument to fruition.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2011-06-30 - Reported enrolled [HR235 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-HR235-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 235 |
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WHEREAS, The year 2011 marks the 50th anniversary of the | ||
beginning of significant U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam, | ||
and this milestone offers a fitting opportunity to honor Texans who | ||
served in that conflict and to recognize those who are working to | ||
help erect the Texas Capitol Vietnam War Monument; and | ||
WHEREAS, The State of Texas made a heavy contribution to this | ||
country's military effort in Vietnam; of the many thousands of | ||
Texans who served in Southeast Asia, 3,415 were killed in combat, | ||
and 107 remain missing in action; in addition, Texas is currently | ||
home to more than 500,000 Vietnam War and Vietnam War-era veterans; | ||
and | ||
WHEREAS, Authorization for the construction of a Vietnam War | ||
monument on the grounds of the State Capitol was made by the | ||
legislature in 2005; the sculptor Duke Sundt was chosen to design | ||
the memorial, and a campaign is currently under way to raise the | ||
$1.5 million in private funds required for its creation and | ||
installation; and | ||
WHEREAS, To further that effort, Patrick M. Reilly, a charter | ||
member of Texas Capital Chapter 1919 of the Military Order of the | ||
Purple Heart, is traveling around the state, with the assistance of | ||
his chapter and along with other veterans, to exhibit a maquette of | ||
Mr. Sundt's design; the maquette has previously been displayed at | ||
such sites and events as the chamber of the Texas House of | ||
Representatives, the Lyndon B. Johnson Ranch, the Houston Rodeo, | ||
and the Vietnam War Symposium at Texas Tech University; it is | ||
currently on exhibit at the George Bush Presidential Library and | ||
Museum in College Station; and | ||
WHEREAS, Mr. Reilly exemplifies the valor of those who served | ||
in what remains America's longest war; born in 1948 in Oklahoma | ||
City, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and in 1967, at the age of 19, | ||
deployed to Vietnam; during the time he served with Weapons Platoon | ||
of Company H, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, he | ||
earned the nickname "Rocketman" for his skill and accuracy in | ||
operating the light antitank weapon; Mr. Reilly participated in | ||
Operations Essex, Auburn, and Hue City before being wounded in the | ||
opening hours of the Tet Offensive in January 1968; by the time U.S. | ||
and South Vietnamese forces had quelled the massive surprise | ||
assault by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops some two months | ||
later, all of Mr. Reilly's close friends had been killed, and not a | ||
single marine who had been in his platoon when he arrived in-country | ||
remained present for duty; the injury that Patrick Reilly had | ||
sustained necessitated the amputation of his right leg, and he has | ||
since worked intensively with the U.S. Department of Veterans | ||
Affairs to improve prosthetic services for veterans; and | ||
WHEREAS, Nearly four decades have now elapsed since the end | ||
of the Vietnam War, but the passage of time can never diminish the | ||
debt that Americans everywhere owe to those courageous individuals | ||
who bore the strife of battle in answer to their country's call; the | ||
raising of a memorial at the State Capitol to the bravery and | ||
sacrifice of Texas Vietnam veterans is indeed deserving of support | ||
by every citizen of the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas | ||
Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby commend Patrick M. Reilly | ||
and the members of Chapter 1919 of the Military Order of the Purple | ||
Heart for their efforts to bring the Texas Capitol Vietnam War | ||
Monument to fruition; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for Mr. Reilly and for Chapter 1919 as an expression of | ||
high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. | ||
Schwertner | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 235 was adopted by the House on June | ||
28, 2011, by a non-record vote. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||