By Wohlgemuth                                          H.R. No. 558
         76R9426 JBR-D                           
                                 R E S O L U T I O N
 1-1           WHEREAS, The members of the Texas House of Representatives
 1-2     are proud to honor Ken Towery for his myriad accomplishments as a
 1-3     journalist and for his outstanding service to his country; and
 1-4           WHEREAS, Born in Monroe County, Mississippi, in 1923,
 1-5     Mr. Towery was raised in South Texas; he joined the United States
 1-6     Army in 1941 and was assigned to the island fortress of Corregidor
 1-7     in Manila Bay; after the six-month siege on Bataan and Corregidor,
 1-8     he was taken prisoner and was held in Manchurian China until his
 1-9     release more than three years later; and
1-10           WHEREAS, Following his return home and recuperation in
1-11     veterans' hospitals, Mr. Towery went to work for the Cuero Daily
1-12     Record; he wrote a series of articles that exposed fraud and
1-13     corruption in the Veterans' Land Program in Texas and won a
1-14     Pulitzer Prize in 1955 for those articles; and
1-15           WHEREAS, Joining the Austin bureau of Newspapers, Inc., in
1-16     1956, Mr. Towery wrote about government and politics for the
1-17     Austin-American Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald, and the Port
1-18     Arthur News; he later served as Chief of Staff for Texas senator
1-19     John Tower and as Senator Tower's campaign manager in 1966 and
1-20     1978; and
1-21           WHEREAS, Mr. Towery managed President Nixon's campaign in
1-22     Texas in 1968; he was deputy press secretary and campaign spokesman
1-23     for the Reagan-Bush campaign in 1980, served as deputy director for
1-24     policy and plans at the United States Information Agency, and was
 2-1     named to the board of directors of the Corporation for Public
 2-2     Broadcasting by President Reagan in 1981 and was twice elected its
 2-3     chairman; and
 2-4           WHEREAS, He is the author of The Chow Dipper: A Personal and
 2-5     Political  Odyssey, a book examining war and politics from a
 2-6     soldier's viewpoint, and continues his involvement in the field of
 2-7     communications as the owner of two West Texas newspapers, the Floyd
 2-8     County Hesperian-Beacon and the Crosby County News & Chronicle; and
 2-9           WHEREAS, An accomplished journalist and a courageous veteran,
2-10     Ken Towery has an impressive record of noteworthy accomplishments,
2-11     and it is indeed fitting to recognize him at this time; now,
2-12     therefore, be it
2-13           RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 76th
2-14     Legislature hereby commend Ken Towery for his outstanding
2-15     citizenship and extend to him sincere best wishes for continued
2-16     success and happiness; and, be it further
2-17           RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
2-18     prepared for Mr. Towery as an expression of high regard from the
2-19     Texas House of Representatives.