By Hardcastle H.R. No. 582
77R10086 JKB-D
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.