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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The 99th birthday of an esteemed Texan is truly |
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cause for celebration, and C. P. Sloan is celebrating this joyous |
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occasion on June 1, 2023, to the delight of his family and friends; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Born to Harvey and Margaret Sloan in Navarro County |
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in 1924, "Buck" Sloan grew up with six siblings; he learned to play |
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the guitar as a boy, and when his father was forced to sell the |
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instrument to buy flour during the Great Depression, little Buck |
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made one out of a cooking oil can in order to keep practicing; his |
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grandfather then used his first pension check to buy him a $4.98 |
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Silvertone guitar from Sears & Roebuck; the family later moved to |
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Lufkin, where he began playing with a band called the East Texas Hay |
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Rakers; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Sloan was inducted into the U.S. Army in |
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February 1943; a few weeks after the Normandy Landing, he was sent |
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to help fill in the ranks of the Second Infantry Division, B |
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Company, 3rd Platoon, 3rd Squad; armed with a Browning Automatic |
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Rifle, he fought in fierce battles to liberate the city of Brest; |
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his canteen was shot off, his cheek was grazed by machine gun |
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bullets, and men died all around him, but he forged on and captured |
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a group of some 30 German soldiers; on December 18, 1944, during the |
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Battle of the Bulge, he was severely wounded by a German hand |
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grenade; among numerous decorations, he received the Purple Heart, |
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the French Legion of Honor, and five battle stars; and |
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WHEREAS, Following his demobilization on July 14, 1945, |
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Mr. Sloan returned home and began performing around Harris County |
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with such bands as Dee Turner and the Serenaders and Art Stockwell & |
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the Circle R Ranch Hands; he eventually formed the Buckshots, and |
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they became the house band at the Hitching Rail; many of the state's |
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best musicians came to sit in when they were in town, among them |
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members of the Bob Wills Band; later, the group did a four-year |
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stint at the Jacinto City Opry; in 2011, Mr. Sloan and his wife, |
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Shirley, opened their own dancehall, the Buckshot Jamboree, notable |
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for both the music and their display of collectibles and |
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memorabilia, including his beloved Silvertone; he was inducted into |
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both the Western Swing Music Society of the Southwest Hall of Fame |
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and the Bandera Music History Project Hall of Fame; in 2022, he |
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returned for the first time to France, where he was formally |
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welcomed to the Normandy Victory Museum; he also hosted his 46th |
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Annual Musician's Reunion in Bandera; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the course of 99 years, Buck Sloan has bravely |
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served his country and enriched the lives of innumerable people |
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through his music, and he is a source of inspiration to all who are |
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fortunate enough to know him; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate C. P. "Buck" Sloan on the occasion |
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of his 99th birthday and extend to him sincere best wishes for |
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continued happiness; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Mr. Sloan as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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House of Representatives. |