1-1     By:  Wise (Senate Sponsor - Shapleigh)                H.C.R. No. 11
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 9, 2001;
 1-3     April 9, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on Veteran
 1-4     Affairs and Military Installations; April 24, 2001, reported
 1-5     favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 5, Nays 0; April 24, 2001,
 1-6     sent to printer.)
 1-7                         HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-8           WHEREAS, The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor was established
 1-9     by the 58th Texas Legislature to honor gallant and intrepid service
1-10     by a member of the State Military Forces of Texas, and through his
1-11     courageous actions during battle in the Vietnam War, Master
1-12     Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez distinguished himself as a worthy
1-13     recipient of this prestigious honor; and
1-14           WHEREAS, A native Texan, Sergeant Benavidez was born on
1-15     August 5, 1935, in DeWitt County, the son of a sharecropper;
1-16     orphaned at an early age and raised  by relatives, he dropped out
1-17     of school at the age of 14 to work in the fields before enlisting
1-18     in the U.S. Army in June 1955; and
1-19           WHEREAS, While on his first tour of duty in Vietnam, this
1-20     admirable soldier was injured by a land mine and though doctors
1-21     feared he might never walk again, Sergeant Benavidez recovered
1-22     fully and returned to Vietnam with the Green Berets, an elite
1-23     Special Forces unit; and
1-24           WHEREAS,  On the morning of May 2, 1968, while assigned to
1-25     the Loc Ninh base in South Vietnam, Sergeant Benavidez learned that
1-26     12  members of a Special Forces reconnaissance team were surrounded
1-27     by enemy troops inside Cambodia and under heavy fire; this heroic
1-28     Texan courageously volunteered for the evacuation mission to aid in
1-29     the rescue of his fellow soldiers; and
1-30           WHEREAS, Though intense small-arms and anti-aircraft fire
1-31     made the rescue operation tremendously dangerous, Sergeant
1-32     Benavidez jumped from the helicopter into enemy gunsights; even
1-33     before he reached the stranded team's position he had been wounded
1-34     in his right leg, face, and head, yet despite his painful injuries,
1-35     Sergeant Benavidez carried the wounded men to the waiting
1-36     helicopter and provided protective fire to cover the remaining
1-37     crew; and
1-38           WHEREAS, The mission grew more complicated as Sergeant
1-39     Benavidez retrieved classified documents from dead and wounded team
1-40     members, and he worked quickly to secure them despite sustaining
1-41     more severe wounds from gunshots to his abdomen and grenade
1-42     fragments in his back; while attempting takeoff, the pilot was
1-43     mortally wounded and the helicopter crashed; despite the chaos
1-44     around him,  Sergeant Benavidez freed those aboard from the
1-45     wreckage and established a defensive perimeter under increasing
1-46     enemy gunfire and grenade attacks; and
1-47           WHEREAS, Acting as medic,  directing by radio the fire from
1-48     gunships overhead, and even engaging in hand-to-hand combat with
1-49     the enemy, Sergeant Benavidez bravely weathered a harrowing six
1-50     hours in the field and saved the lives of eight men through his
1-51     leadership and action; he had been clubbed, shot, and bayoneted,
1-52     yet Sergeant Benavidez prevailed, and when his actions were praised
1-53     as awesome and extraordinary, he defined them only as duty; and
1-54           WHEREAS, For his exceptional valor, Sergeant Benavidez was
1-55     awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and in 1981 he was
1-56     presented with the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Ronald
1-57     Reagan; even after his retirement from the military he continued to
1-58     serve his country by devoting his time and energy to veterans
1-59     groups and by visiting schools to speak to youths on critical
1-60     issues such as education, drug use, and gangs; and
1-61           WHEREAS, Though this brave soldier died on November 29, 1998,
1-62     the extremely valorous actions displayed by Master Sergeant Roy P.
1-63     Benavidez in the face of overwhelming odds continue to serve as an
1-64     inspiration; the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor is the highest
 2-1     commendation Texans can bestow on members of our state military
 2-2     forces, and it is truly fitting that it be awarded to Sergeant
 2-3     Benavidez; now, therefore, be it
 2-4           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
 2-5     hereby posthumously confer the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor on
 2-6     Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez in recognition of his heroic
 2-7     service and express to his family our deepest appreciation on
 2-8     behalf of all his fellow Texans; and, be it further
 2-9           RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
2-10     prepared for the family of Sergeant Benavidez as an expression of
2-11     highest regard by the Texas Legislature.
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