| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, Vernon Ollar of Kerr County celebrated his 100th |
|
|
birthday on July 26, 2021, providing a fitting opportunity to |
|
|
recognize this esteemed member of the Greatest Generation for his |
|
|
service during World War II; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Born in Moline, Illinois, in 1921, Vern Ollar grew |
|
|
up in neighboring Rock Island; he worked at an ordnance plant before |
|
|
joining the United States Army in December 1942; after basic |
|
|
training with the Chemical Warfare Service at Camp Sibert in |
|
|
Alabama, he was stationed at Camp Polk in Louisiana, with the 81st |
|
|
Chemical Mortar Battalion, and then went on mountain maneuvers at |
|
|
Camp Pickens in Virginia; he was deployed to England aboard the |
|
|
Capetown Castle, a converted British ocean liner, and following an |
|
|
arduous journey, he trained for months in the frigid English |
|
|
Channel in preparation for D-Day; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Ollar landed on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, |
|
|
with the 116th Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, in the first wave |
|
|
of the attack; as a mortarman, he had to enter deep, icy water to |
|
|
drag the weapons ashore while dodging enemy fire and anti-tank |
|
|
mines; he was the gunner for his squad, which quickly took out a |
|
|
machine gun nest; after securing the bluff tops, the division |
|
|
advanced, and Mr. Ollar and his comrades had to seek food and |
|
|
shelter at abandoned farmsteads; he took part in the bitter |
|
|
fighting through hedgerows and proceeded across France and Belgium |
|
|
to Germany; for his valor at Dillingen, he received a bronze star; |
|
|
toward the end of the war, he was also involved in the development |
|
|
of radar technology to detect the origin of incoming artillery |
|
|
rounds; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Over the course of a century, Vern Ollar has not only |
|
|
bravely served his nation, but has also met the challenges and |
|
|
opportunities of a long life with fortitude, earning the lasting |
|
|
respect and admiration of all who are fortunate enough to know him; |
|
|
now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
|
|
Legislature, 2nd Called Session, hereby congratulate Vernon Ollar |
|
|
on the occasion of his 100th birthday and honor him for his |
|
|
patriotic service during World War II; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for Mr. Ollar as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
|
|
House of Representatives. |