By: Ratliff S.R. No. 606 1-1 SENATE RESOLUTION 1-2 WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is extremely proud 1-3 to pay tribute to the members of the 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion 1-4 of the United States Army who saw action in World War II; and 1-5 WHEREAS, On December 15, 1941, the 601st Tank 1-6 Destroyer Battalion was activated by the United States War 1-7 Department; and 1-8 WHEREAS, The commanding officer of the battalion was 1-9 Major Hershel D. Baker who instilled pride, discipline, loyalty, and 1-10 fighting spirit in his men; and 1-11 WHEREAS, In July, 1942, members of the 601st Tank 1-12 Destroyer Battalion were loaded onto the Queen Mary and left 1-13 New York harbor to sail to Scotland and then to England; from England 1-14 the battalion sailed to Spanish Morocco; and 1-15 WHEREAS, The battalion was deployed in North Africa and by the 1-16 beginning of May, 1943, all German resistance was ended; the once 1-17 proud Afrika Korps were humbled and desperately sought officials to 1-18 whom they could surrender; and 1-19 WHEREAS, After seeing intense action in North Africa, 1-20 the 601st Battalion fought in Italy, France, Germany, and Austria; 1-21 these intrepid soldiers were in Salzburg for Victory in Europe Day; 1-22 and 1-23 WHEREAS, The courage and sacrifice of these noble fighting men 2-1 is a source of tremendous pride and gratitude to all Texans; and 2-2 WHEREAS, In all, the 601st Battalion consisted of 1,800 men 2-3 who fought in eight campaigns, spent a total of 546 days in actual 2-4 combat, suffered 683 casualties, had 110 men killed, and took 155 2-5 tanks and self-propelled guns out of commission; and 2-6 WHEREAS, The upcoming reunion of these men who fought so 2-7 valiantly together in wartime will be a poignant experience made up 2-8 of joy and sadness; now, therefore, be it 2-9 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 2-10 73rd Legislature, hereby honor and commend the gallant men of the 2-11 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion who fought so bravely to uphold the 2-12 cherished ideals and freedoms of our people; and, be it further 2-13 RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for this 2-14 celebrated tank unit as an expression of admiration and esteem from 2-15 the Texas Senate. 2-16 _____________________________________ 2-17 President of the Senate 2-18 I hereby certify that the 2-19 above Resolution was adopted by 2-20 the Senate on April 13, 1993. 2-21 _____________________________________ 2-22 Secretary of the Senate 2-23 _____________________________________ 2-24 Member, Texas Senate