By Ellis H.C.R. No. 176 77R7763 MMS-D HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor was established 1-2 by the 58th Texas Legislature to honor gallant and intrepid service 1-3 by a member of the state military forces of Texas, and through his 1-4 courageous actions during battle in World War II, Colonel M. B. 1-5 Etheredge of Huntsville distinguished himself as a worthy recipient 1-6 of this prestigious honor; and 1-7 WHEREAS, Raised in East Texas, Col. Etheredge was serving as 1-8 superintendent of a small school district in Damon when the United 1-9 States entered the war; resigning his position, he enlisted in the 1-10 army as a private in 1942; after completing basic training he was 1-11 sent to noncommissioned officers' school and, after only eight days 1-12 there, to officers' candidate school in Fort Benning, Georgia, 1-13 where he graduated on February 5, 1943; and 1-14 WHEREAS, On the night of March 12-13, 1944, Col. Etheredge 1-15 was assistant commander of a combat patrol when it came under heavy 1-16 machine-gun fire north of Carano, Italy; disregarding the bullets 1-17 flying all about him, he personally led his squad in a successful 1-18 assault on the machine gun; when a second machine gun erupted, he 1-19 again braved the barrage as he directed his men in laying down 1-20 fire, allowing the main part of the patrol to advance against the 1-21 gun and silence it; and 1-22 WHEREAS, Farther along, a third strong point opened heavy 1-23 fire; once more, Col. Etheredge moved about aggressively in the 1-24 midst of this attack, developing a strong firing line and enabling 2-1 the main body of the patrol to skirt the house and continue on its 2-2 mission; altogether, the patrol killed at least 10 Germans, 2-3 captured 12, and knocked out two machine guns, and Col. Etheredge's 2-4 remarkable gallantry and leadership in this operation earned for 2-5 him a Silver Star; and 2-6 WHEREAS, Two months later, on May 23, 1944, in Italy, Col. 2-7 Etheredge immediately took charge of Company "K," 30th Infantry 2-8 Regiment, when the commanding officer and other key personnel were 2-9 cut down; deciding to continue the attack, he ignored heavy fire to 2-10 move up and down a ditch for 75 yards, reorganizing his company and 2-11 bolstering its morale; though wounded in the leg, he then led his 2-12 men running and crawling into the face of steady small arms fire 2-13 for some 550 yards, rested them for 10 minutes, and then resumed 2-14 the assault, advancing another 250 yards, overrunning the objective 2-15 and organizing an all-around defensive position; and 2-16 WHEREAS, Col. Etheredge's actions were instrumental in 2-17 securing a vital battalion target, relieving pressure on two flank 2-18 companies, and opening a way for a third company to advance; his 2-19 critical role in this day's action was rewarded with the appendage 2-20 of an oak leaf cluster to his Silver Star; and 2-21 WHEREAS, Col. Etheredge subsequently commanded Company "K" in 2-22 France; there, on August 16, 1944, he once again exposed himself to 2-23 gunfire in the course of significantly assisting the American 2-24 advance; he was sitting atop a tank destroyer, directing its fire 2-25 at German-held buildings 200 yards distant, when he barely escaped 2-26 a machine-gun fusillade; and 2-27 WHEREAS, A platoon flanking the building then fell into 3-1 disarray and Col. Etheredge dashed across 75 yards of open ground 3-2 through more machine-gun fire to reorganize the group; choosing a 3-3 route that skirted the barbed wire outside the buildings, he next 3-4 led a 50-yard assault that captured 29 enemy soldiers, an anti-tank 3-5 gun, a mortar, large quantities of ammunition, and numerous 3-6 vehicles; in recognition of his bravery and decisive command, he 3-7 received a second oak leaf cluster; and 3-8 WHEREAS, During the war Col. Etheredge also received two 3-9 Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts; he was eventually discharged 3-10 with the highest efficiency rating of any officer discharged from 3-11 the Fourth Army; this dauntless soldier later served three terms in 3-12 the Texas Legislature and taught for 33 years at Sam Houston State 3-13 University; and 3-14 WHEREAS, The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor is the highest 3-15 commendation Texans can bestow on members of our state military 3-16 forces, and the outstanding valor manifested by Col. Etheredge on 3-17 repeated occasions most assuredly merits the award of our state's 3-18 supreme military honor; now, therefore, be it 3-19 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas 3-20 hereby confer the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor on Colonel M. B. 3-21 Etheredge in recognition of his heroic service and express to him 3-22 our deepest appreciation on behalf of all his fellow Texans; and, 3-23 be it further 3-24 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 3-25 prepared for Col. Etheredge as an expression of highest regard by 3-26 the Texas House of Representatives and Senate.