By Delisi                                            H.C.R. No. 114
         77R5483 CCK-D                           
                             HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-1           WHEREAS, The State of Texas and its military community have
 1-2     enjoyed a long and mutually beneficial relationship, and our
 1-3     citizenry includes a  population of 1.5 million veterans whose
 1-4     service in this nation's armed forces merits honor through
 1-5     appropriate facilities and memorials; and
 1-6           WHEREAS, The 75th Texas Legislature in 1997 provided for a
 1-7     contractual feasibility study of state veterans cemeteries, and
 1-8     that investigation determined Central Texas to be one of the major
 1-9     regions devoid of a national cemetery for veterans and thus
1-10     deserving of priority consideration for a state cemetery site; and
1-11           WHEREAS, Integral to defense affairs in the Central Texas
1-12     area is Bell County, home to Fort Hood; established in 1942, Fort
1-13     Hood today is the largest military base in the world and
1-14     constitutes a significant portion of the combat-ready air and
1-15     ground forces of the United States Army; and
1-16           WHEREAS, Of further witness to its importance to the military
1-17     community, Bell County on May 29, 2000, Memorial Day, dedicated the
1-18     William R. Courtney Texas State Veterans Home, located in Temple;
1-19     in December 2000, that facility became the first Texas state
1-20     veterans home to accept a client resident; and
1-21           WHEREAS, Legislation has been filed in the 77th Texas
1-22     Legislature to establish a system of state veterans cemeteries, and
1-23     Bell County and Fort Hood because of their pivotal role provide an
1-24     ideal environment for placement of a component site of that
 2-1     proposed system; now, therefore, be it
 2-2           RESOLVED, That, contingent on the passage of legislation
 2-3     creating a Texas Veterans Cemetery System, the 77th Legislature of
 2-4     the State of Texas hereby direct the governing body of the state
 2-5     entity charged to establish and oversee that system to locate the
 2-6     first state veterans cemetery in Bell County, on post at Fort Hood;
 2-7     and, be it further
 2-8           RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official
 2-9     copy of this resolution to the governing body of the entity
2-10     statutorily charged with the creation of the Texas Veterans
2-11     Cemetery System.