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.