Bill Text: TX HR328 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commemorating April 9, 2013, as Former POW Recognition Day.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 2)
Status: (Passed) 2013-02-21 - Reported enrolled [HR328 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HR328-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 328 | ||
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| WHEREAS, For thousands of members of the American armed | ||
| forces who have served in wartime, the heat of battle has been | ||
| followed by the hardships and challenges of life as a prisoner of | ||
| war; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Harsh conditions and psychological duress have been | ||
| the common lot of POWs, and often the degree of cruelty inflicted | ||
| has reached the level of atrocity; the history of this country's | ||
| military conflicts is replete with such infamous cases; among the | ||
| horrors that attended the American Civil War were the Andersonville | ||
| and Libby prison camps in the South and Elmira in the North, where, | ||
| collectively, more than 16,000 prisoners died from a lack of food, | ||
| inadequate medical care, wretched sanitation, and exposure to the | ||
| elements; altogether, it is estimated that 56,000 men perished in | ||
| Civil War prisons; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In World War II, the notorious Bataan Death March | ||
| followed on the heels of the surrender of 70,000 American and | ||
| Filipino troops to the Japanese Army on April 9, 1942; treatment of | ||
| those prisoners was so brutal that the Japanese officer initially | ||
| in command was later tried as a war criminal and executed; still | ||
| further misery awaited POWs in the Philippines; in late 1944, with | ||
| U.S. forces poised to recapture the islands, the Japanese Army | ||
| herded more than 126,000 Allied prisoners into the holds of | ||
| merchant ships for the purpose of evacuation; many of those men died | ||
| as a result of fetid, overcrowded conditions and a lack of food and | ||
| water; in addition, over 21,000 Americans are believed to have been | ||
| killed or injured when the "hell ships" carrying them were attacked | ||
| by American planes and submarines; and | ||
| WHEREAS, American prisoner-of-war deaths during the Korean | ||
| War officially totaled more than 2,800, for a rate of over 40 | ||
| percent; before the creation of permanent prison camps, many of | ||
| those captured died on death marches to temporary facilities; | ||
| casualties were especially high in the first two years of the war, | ||
| largely due to a lack of food, shelter, and medicine; prisoners also | ||
| suffered physical abuse, and there were reported cases of torture; | ||
| and | ||
| WHEREAS, U.S. troops captured during the Vietnam War were | ||
| kept in primitive conditions in South Vietnam, North Vietnam, Laos, | ||
| and Cambodia; the so-called "Hanoi Hilton" prison in North Vietnam | ||
| was the scene of repeated torture, while one out of every three | ||
| Americans taken prisoner by the Viet Cong died from disease, | ||
| injury, or execution; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In today's military, women are increasingly | ||
| assuming risks on a par with men; Army Specialist Shoshana Johnson, | ||
| of El Paso, became one of the first two female POWs of Operation | ||
| Iraqi Freedom on March 23, 2003, when her convoy was ambushed in | ||
| Nasiriya; wounded in both ankles, she was held captive with other | ||
| members of her group until they were rescued on April 13, 2003; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Those prisoners of war who have survived their | ||
| ordeal have continued to lead lives of service; among the most | ||
| prominent is Congressman Sam Johnson, of Plano, who was shot down | ||
| during his second tour of duty as a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War | ||
| and who subsequently spent nearly seven years as a POW in North | ||
| Vietnam; after retiring from a highly decorated 29-year career in | ||
| the United States Air Force, Sam Johnson served in the Texas House | ||
| of Representatives from 1985 to 1991, when he was elected to the | ||
| U.S. Congress; and | ||
| WHEREAS, During the Vietnam War, the plight of American | ||
| military personnel who were listed either as having been captured | ||
| or as missing in action gave rise to the creation of the POW/MIA | ||
| flag; depicting the silhouette of a man flanked by a watchtower and | ||
| a strand of barbed wire, the flag flies, at the direction of | ||
| Congress, over the White House, the Capitol, and other specified | ||
| sites on the occasion of six annual national observances, including | ||
| Independence Day and Veterans Day; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Our nation is fortunate to have sons and daughters | ||
| whose love of country leads them to join one of the uniformed | ||
| branches, yet we are aware that in answering their nation's call, | ||
| they assume enormous burdens and risks; to those who have known the | ||
| terrible rigors of prison camps while serving in this country's | ||
| behalf, Americans owe a profound debt and eternal tribute; now, | ||
| therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas | ||
| Legislature hereby commemorate April 9, 2013, as Former POW | ||
| Recognition Day and honor all Texans who have experienced life as a | ||
| prisoner of war for their immeasurable courage, commitment, and | ||
| sacrifice. | ||
| Price | ||
| Branch | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Speaker of the House | ||
| I certify that H.R. No. 328 was adopted by the House on | ||
| February 18, 2013, by a non-record vote. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
