R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, In light of the upcoming publication of the book, 1-2 The Alvin W. Shipman Story, it is most fitting to commemorate the 1-3 life of this courageous soldier and reflect on his great heroism; 1-4 and 1-5 WHEREAS, Though Alvin Shipman died on May 23, 1979, his 1-6 legacy lives on; he was a native Texan and sergeant in the United 1-7 States Army whose actions led to the liberation of the Mauthausen 1-8 prison camp; and 1-9 WHEREAS, In 1945, Sergeant Shipman was leading a squad of 1-10 eight men on a reconnaissance mission in Linz, Austria, when they 1-11 approached a large, formerly unknown German prisoner of war camp 1-12 and saw that there were men confined in small cages outside of the 1-13 camp buildings; careful not to reveal how small his group was, 1-14 Sergeant Shipman and his squad initiated an aggressive attack on 1-15 the camp, forcing many of the Germans to flee, capturing several, 1-16 and liberating a reported 30,000 prisoners; and 1-17 WHEREAS, Wounded in the attack, the captured German 1-18 commander, Franz Ziereis, dictated a deathbed confession to Charles 1-19 Pilarski, his personal house servant and a political prisoner of 1-20 Mauthausen; recognizing the significance of the document, Pilarski 1-21 translated it and produced a book in which he also detailed a 1-22 record of his life in the prisoner of war camp and included 1-23 pictures of the horror that had been inflicted on the camp's 1-24 prisoners; and 2-1 WHEREAS, Using the camp's printing press, Pilarski printed 2-2 several copies of the book but, when his actions were discovered, 2-3 he was ordered to stop and the books and camp printing press were 2-4 destroyed for unknown reasons; desperate to save at least one copy 2-5 of the book so the world would fully understand what happened at 2-6 Mauthausen, he asked Sergeant Shipman, now a close personal friend, 2-7 to get the book to America; and 2-8 WHEREAS, Listening to his conscience but bound by his 2-9 dedication to duty, Sergeant Shipman imbedded the works in a pillow 2-10 and shipped the package as a gift to his mother in America, where 2-11 it lay undisturbed in a trunk out of sight for 28 years; and 2-12 WHEREAS, He was honorably discharged from the United States 2-13 military in 1947, and resumed his life with his wife, Inez Smith 2-14 Shipman and only child, Shirley, though the memories of what he had 2-15 witnessed at Mauthausen remained with him until his passing; 2-16 fulfilling one of her father's last wishes to share the story with 2-17 the world after his death, his daughter has now completed a 2-18 chronicle of his life and experiences during his military service, 2-19 including the information salvaged from the Mauthausen camp, as 2-20 well as the great love story he shared with his wife, who died 2-21 nearly one month to the day after her beloved husband; and 2-22 WHEREAS, On April 7, 2001, Sergeant Shipman is being 2-23 remembered and honored through the reenactment of a military 2-24 funeral service at his gravesite in Poplarville, Mississippi; and 2-25 WHEREAS, Alvin W. Shipman was a man of tremendous bravery and 2-26 his valiant efforts during World War II are truly deserving of our 2-27 praise and appreciation; his foresight as to the value of this 3-1 priceless account and his courage in preserving it have provided a 3-2 unique insight into the tragic events of this time, and his 3-3 willingness to take on this effort despite the personal 3-4 significance it held for him made his actions all the more 3-5 remarkable and a story truly worth telling; now, therefore, be it 3-6 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 77th Texas 3-7 Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory and actions of a true 3-8 American hero, Sergeant Alvin W. Shipman. Hardcastle _______________________________ Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 582 was unanimously adopted by a rising vote of the House on March 27, 2001. _______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House