1-1 By: Ellis (Senate Sponsor - Ogden) H.C.R. No. 176 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 23, 2001; 1-3 April 24, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on 1-4 Veteran Affairs and Military Installations; May 3, 2001, reported 1-5 favorably by the following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 3, 2001, sent 1-6 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 World War II, Colonel M. B. 1-12 Etheredge of Huntsville distinguished himself as a worthy recipient 1-13 of this prestigious honor; and 1-14 WHEREAS, Raised in East Texas, Col. Etheredge was serving as 1-15 superintendent of a small school district in Damon when the United 1-16 States entered the war; resigning his position, he enlisted in the 1-17 army as a private in 1942; after completing basic training he was 1-18 sent to noncommissioned officers' school and, after only eight days 1-19 there, to officers' candidate school in Fort Benning, Georgia, 1-20 where he graduated on February 5, 1943; and 1-21 WHEREAS, On the night of March 12-13, 1944, Col. Etheredge 1-22 was assistant commander of a combat patrol when it came under heavy 1-23 machine-gun fire north of Carano, Italy; disregarding the bullets 1-24 flying all about him, he personally led his squad in a successful 1-25 assault on the machine gun; when a second machine gun erupted, he 1-26 again braved the barrage as he directed his men in laying down 1-27 fire, allowing the main part of the patrol to advance against the 1-28 gun and silence it; and 1-29 WHEREAS, Farther along, a third strong point opened heavy 1-30 fire; once more, Col. Etheredge moved about aggressively in the 1-31 midst of this attack, developing a strong firing line and enabling 1-32 the main body of the patrol to skirt the house and continue on its 1-33 mission; altogether, the patrol killed at least 10 Germans, 1-34 captured 12, and knocked out two machine guns, and Col. Etheredge's 1-35 remarkable gallantry and leadership in this operation earned for 1-36 him a Silver Star; and 1-37 WHEREAS, Two months later, on May 23, 1944, in Italy, Col. 1-38 Etheredge immediately took charge of Company "K," 30th Infantry 1-39 Regiment, when the commanding officer and other key personnel were 1-40 cut down; deciding to continue the attack, he ignored heavy fire to 1-41 move up and down a ditch for 75 yards, reorganizing his company and 1-42 bolstering its morale; though wounded in the leg, he then led his 1-43 men running and crawling into the face of steady small arms fire 1-44 for some 550 yards, rested them for 10 minutes, and then resumed 1-45 the assault, advancing another 250 yards, overrunning the objective 1-46 and organizing an all-around defensive position; and 1-47 WHEREAS, Col. Etheredge's actions were instrumental in 1-48 securing a vital battalion target, relieving pressure on two flank 1-49 companies, and opening a way for a third company to advance; his 1-50 critical role in this day's action was rewarded with the appendage 1-51 of an oak leaf cluster to his Silver Star; and 1-52 WHEREAS, Col. Etheredge subsequently commanded Company "K" in 1-53 France; there, on August 16, 1944, he once again exposed himself to 1-54 gunfire in the course of significantly assisting the American 1-55 advance; he was sitting atop a tank destroyer, directing its fire 1-56 at German-held buildings 200 yards distant, when he barely escaped 1-57 a machine-gun fusillade; and 1-58 WHEREAS, A platoon flanking the building then fell into 1-59 disarray and Col. Etheredge dashed across 75 yards of open ground 1-60 through more machine-gun fire to reorganize the group; choosing a 1-61 route that skirted the barbed wire outside the buildings, he next 1-62 led a 50-yard assault that captured 29 enemy soldiers, an anti-tank 1-63 gun, a mortar, large quantities of ammunition, and numerous 1-64 vehicles; in recognition of his bravery and decisive command, he 2-1 received a second oak leaf cluster; and 2-2 WHEREAS, During the war Col. Etheredge also received two 2-3 Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts; he was eventually discharged 2-4 with the highest efficiency rating of any officer discharged from 2-5 the Fourth Army; this dauntless soldier later served three terms in 2-6 the Texas Legislature and taught for 33 years at Sam Houston State 2-7 University; and 2-8 WHEREAS, The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor is the highest 2-9 commendation Texans can bestow on members of our state military 2-10 forces, and the outstanding valor manifested by Col. Etheredge on 2-11 repeated occasions most assuredly merits the award of our state's 2-12 supreme military honor; now, therefore, be it 2-13 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas 2-14 hereby confer the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor on Colonel M. B. 2-15 Etheredge in recognition of his heroic service and express to him 2-16 our deepest appreciation on behalf of all his fellow Texans; and, 2-17 be it further 2-18 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 2-19 prepared for Col. Etheredge as an expression of highest regard by 2-20 the Texas House of Representatives and Senate. 2-21 * * * * *