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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor was established |
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to recognize gallant and intrepid service by a member of the state |
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or federal military forces, and U.S. Marine Corps First Lieutenant |
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Andrew Jackson Lummus Jr., who was killed in the Battle of Iwo Jima |
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during World War II, proved himself a deserving recipient of this |
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prestigious award; and |
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WHEREAS, Jack Lummus was born in Ennis on October 22, 1915, |
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and he grew up on his family's cotton farm during the Great |
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Depression; a gifted athlete, he earned scholarships to Texas |
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Military College and to Baylor University, where he played baseball |
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and football for the Bears; in early 1941, he left college to enlist |
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in the U.S. Army Air Corps but was given an honorable discharge when |
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he failed to complete flight school; he then accepted an offer to |
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play professional football with the New York Giants, and it was |
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during the team's game on December 7, 1941, that he learned of the |
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attack on Pearl Harbor; determined to serve his country, he |
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enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, and after a series of training |
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and duty assignments in the United States, he was deployed to the |
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Pacific theater as an officer in the 2nd Battalion, 27th Marines, |
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5th Marine Division; and |
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WHEREAS, Lieutenant Lummus led his rifle platoon ashore at |
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Iwo Jima as part of the initial contingent of marine forces to land |
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on the island; on March 8, 1945, his unit advanced against a line of |
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Japanese pillboxes along the island's rugged Nishi Ridge; moving |
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ahead of his men under fierce enemy fire, he destroyed one pillbox |
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with grenades even as he was wounded and knocked off his feet by a |
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blast from an enemy grenade; undaunted, he eliminated a second |
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pillbox and returned to his platoon before attacking and knocking |
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out a third pillbox; he urged his fellow marines forward while |
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continuing to fire into enemy foxholes with his carbine; and |
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WHEREAS, This courageous Texan's one-man assault was ended |
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when he stepped on a land mine; though he lost both of his legs in |
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the explosion, he continued to shout to his men, "Don't stop now! |
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Keep going!" and by nightfall, his unit had taken the ridge; |
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Lieutenant Lummus died on the operating table in a field hospital |
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and was buried in the Fifth Marine Division cemetery on the island; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, On May 30, 1946, First Lieutenant Jack Lummus was |
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posthumously honored with the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest |
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commendation for valor in combat, by President Harry S. Truman, and |
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two years later, he was reinterred in his hometown cemetery; in the |
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decades since, his heroism has been recognized many times; in 1986, |
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the U.S. Navy named a ship after him, and that same year, Jack |
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Lummus Memorial Park was dedicated in Ennis, where there is also an |
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intermediate school that bears his name; his Medal of Honor |
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citation is on display at Baylor University, and on October 11, |
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2015, the New York Giants inducted him into the Ring of Honor at |
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MetLife Stadium; and |
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WHEREAS, During one of the most savage battles of World War |
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II, First Lieutenant Jack Lummus demonstrated extraordinary |
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bravery and leadership and made the ultimate sacrifice while |
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defending our nation, and he is indeed deserving of this state's |
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supreme military commendation; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby direct the governor of the State of Texas to posthumously |
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award the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor to Andrew Jackson Lummus |
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Jr. in recognition of his valiant service during World War II. |