1-1 1 1-2 SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 662 1-3 WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas takes great pride 1-4 in recognizing the Honorable Doyle Willis, who will be honored on 1-5 April 15, 1999, as recipient of the first annual Texas Veteran of 1-6 the Year Award; and 1-7 WHEREAS, Born on August 8, 1908, in Kaufman County, he was 1-8 educated in the public schools and won a football scholarship 1-9 to The University of Texas at Austin; he was also the football 1-10 coach at Thorndale, becoming part of a championship tradition; and 1-11 WHEREAS, During the Depression, Doyle Willis worked his way 1-12 through Georgetown University Law School and had the opportunity 1-13 to work for Sam Rayburn and the leaders of the New Deal; and 1-14 WHEREAS, The personification of a patriotic American, 1-15 Senator Willis volunteered when World War II broke out and joined 1-16 the United States Army Air Corps; and 1-17 WHEREAS, Senator Willis saw action in the Pacific as an 1-18 intelligence officer; he was awarded the Bronze Star and four 1-19 Battle Stars, and he ended his impressive career as a major; and 1-20 WHEREAS, First elected to the Texas House of Representatives 1-21 in 1946, his service in the legislature extended 42 years; he served 1-22 five years in the Texas House of Representatives before he was 2-1 elected to the Texas Senate, where he held office for 2-2 10 years, ending in 1962; and 2-3 WHEREAS, Winning a seat on the Fort Worth City Council 2-4 in 1963, he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives 2-5 in 1968 and 1972; Senator Willis has become known as the Father 2-6 of the Civil Service for the instrumental role which he played 2-7 in the passage of state civil service laws; and 2-8 WHEREAS, Selected as the first person to receive the 2-9 Southwest Veterans Medal of Honor, the Honorable Doyle Willis 2-10 is highly esteemed and was the unanimous choice for the premier 2-11 award; it was created by Southwest Life Magazine and Naval Air 2-12 Station News to pay tribute to those veterans who remain 2-13 longtime activists in veterans organizations; and 2-14 WHEREAS, Senator Willis has been a strong proponent of 2-15 veterans benefits and has worked toward this end all of his years 2-16 in office; in 1996, he was chosen to receive the Lone Star 2-17 Distinguished Service Medal from the Texas Army National Guard; 2-18 and 2-19 WHEREAS, During his years in the legislature, he sponsored 2-20 legislation to assist Texas veterans, their widows, and orphans; 2-21 leaving an indelible stamp on Texas laws, he was the author of 2-22 over 100 Texas statutes; he initiated and chaired the 1993 and 2-23 1995 Legislative Veterans Caucus, is past Veterans of Foreign 2-24 Wars State Commander, and initiated the $500 million Veterans 2-25 Land Board Bill; and 2-26 WHEREAS, This distinguished gentleman served as president 3-1 of the Tarrant County Veterans Council, Department Commander 3-2 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and National Judge Advocate 3-3 of both the Irish American War Veterans and Sons of Confederate 3-4 War Veterans; he is a combat-related member of the Disabled 3-5 American Veterans; such a champion of Texas veterans certainly 3-6 deserves legislative recognition; now, therefore, be it 3-7 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 3-8 76th Legislature, hereby commend and applaud the innumerable 3-9 contributions Senator Doyle Willis has made to the citizens 3-10 and veterans of this state; and, be it further 3-11 RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for 3-12 him as an expression of the highest regard and esteem of the 3-13 Texas Senate. 3-14 Moncrief, Truan, Lucio 3-15 Armbrister Fraser Ogden 3-16 Barrientos Gallegos Ratliff 3-17 Bernsen Harris Shapiro 3-18 Bivins Haywood Shapleigh 3-19 Brown Jackson Sibley 3-20 Cain Lindsay Wentworth 3-21 Carona Luna West 3-22 Duncan Madla Whitmire 3-23 Ellis Nelson Zaffirini 3-24 Nixon 3-25 Perry, President of the Senate 3-26 ______________________________________ 3-27 President of the Senate 3-28 I hereby certify that the above 3-29 Resolution was adopted by the Senate 3-30 on April 15, 1999. 3-31 ______________________________________ 3-32 Secretary of the Senate 3-33 ______________________________________ 3-34 Member, Texas Senate 3-35 ______________________________________ 4-1 Dean of the Senate 4-2 ______________________________________ 4-3 Member, Texas Senate