Bill Text: TX SCR49 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Designating September 24 as Captain Henry T. Waskow Day for a 10-year period ending in 2033.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (N/A - Dead) 2023-05-04 - Referred to Administration [SCR49 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-SCR49-Introduced.html
88R26742 BPG-D | ||
By: Flores | S.C.R. No. 49 |
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WHEREAS, The courageous service of U.S. Army Captain Henry T. | ||
Waskow of Belton during World War II has inspired his fellow | ||
Americans for nearly 80 years; and | ||
WHEREAS, In January 1944, The Washington Daily News ran a | ||
profoundly moving dispatch by legendary World War II correspondent | ||
Ernie Pyle on its front page; the story related the tragic death of | ||
Captain Waskow, who led B Company of the 1st Battalion, 143rd | ||
Infantry Regiment, and had earned the tremendous respect, loyalty, | ||
and affection of the men under his command before being killed in | ||
action; and | ||
WHEREAS, Captain Waskow first experienced combat during the | ||
landings in Salerno, Italy, in September 1943; subsequently, his | ||
company fought in the mountains of southern Italy, enduring | ||
miserable, freezing conditions; he impressed his men with his | ||
efficiency and his calm demeanor, even under artillery and machine | ||
gun fire; on December 14, during the ferocious battle for San | ||
Pietro, he was leading his men from a tree line to attack a German | ||
position when he heard an incoming artillery shell; he shoved his | ||
radio operator, crying "Hit the ground!," but he was cut down | ||
himself by a piece of shrapnel; and | ||
WHEREAS, When it was at last possible for the radio operator | ||
to bring Captain Waskow's body back down the mountain three days | ||
later, Mr. Pyle witnessed the final farewells of the captain's | ||
grief-stricken men and wrote, "In this war I have known a lot of | ||
officers who were loved and respected by the soldiers under them. | ||
But never have I crossed the trail of any man as beloved as Captain | ||
Henry T. Waskow of Belton, Texas"; the heartbreaking account, | ||
syndicated by the Scripps-Howard news service and read over the | ||
radio, resonated powerfully with the American public as an | ||
illustration of humble nobility and the strong bonds of camaraderie | ||
forged in wartime; and | ||
WHEREAS, Henry T. Waskow was born in DeWitt County on | ||
September 24, 1918, to Frank and Mary Waskow, first-generation | ||
Americans of German descent; he grew up on a farm in Bell County | ||
with seven siblings; quiet, serious, dutiful, and industrious, he | ||
graduated as president of his class at Belton High School and | ||
attended Temple Junior College before working his way through | ||
Trinity University as a campus janitor; he enlisted in the Texas | ||
National Guard while preparing for a career in teaching, and after | ||
he was called to active duty, he rose quickly through the ranks; in | ||
January 1943, he was promoted to captain, and his division was | ||
deployed to Algeria that April; and | ||
WHEREAS, Captain Waskow's grave near Nettuno, Italy, has been | ||
visited by countless people, and he is not forgotten at home; VFW | ||
Post No. 4008 in Belton and the Belton New Tech High School @Waskow | ||
are named in his honor; and | ||
WHEREAS, Exemplifying the highest ideals of the U.S. armed | ||
forces, Captain Henry T. Waskow has long been revered as a moving | ||
example of the heroism demonstrated by American service members as | ||
well as the sacrifices made in defense of our nation, and it is | ||
indeed fitting to further honor his memory by officially | ||
commemorating the anniversary of his birth; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
hereby designate September 24 as Captain Henry T. Waskow Day; and, | ||
be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That, in accordance with the provisions of Section | ||
391.004(d), Government Code, this designation remain in effect | ||
until the 10th anniversary of the date this resolution is finally | ||
passed by the legislature. |