H.R. No. 253


R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The family and friends of U.S. Army Private First Class Stephen Eugene Wyatt of Kilgore suffered a terrible loss with the death of this brave young soldier in Iraq on October 13, 2003, at the age of 19; and WHEREAS, Assigned to C Battery, 1st Battalion, 17th Field Artillery Regiment, Private Wyatt was killed in northern Iraq while patrolling a supply route with his unit when the Humvee he was riding as a gunner struck a land mine; and WHEREAS, Born on June 14, 1984, Stephen Wyatt was a model student at Kilgore High School, where he graduated in 2001; an avid hunter and fisherman, Private Wyatt was so enthusiastic about the outdoors that one of his life goals was to become involved in Texas wildlife protection; and WHEREAS, Serving in the military was another lifelong dream of Private Wyatt's, and he enlisted in the U.S. Army on his 18th birthday; in August of 2002, he reported for basic and advanced training at his permanent duty station, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he met his wife, Kelly, who was stationed there as well; in March 2003, Private Wyatt was deployed to Iraq; and WHEREAS, Through his selfless and unfaltering devotion to duty, honor, and his country, this courageous young Texan embodied the highest ideals of the armed services, and we owe a profound debt for the enormous sacrifice that he and his family have paid; although he will be sorely missed by his loved ones, his bravery and his heroism will never be forgotten; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 78th Texas Legislature, 4th Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the life of Private First Class Stephen Eugene Wyatt, United States Army, and extend profound sympathy to the members of his family: to his wife, Kelly Wyatt; to his father and stepmother, Charles and Lilmah Wyatt; to his sister, Jessica Wyatt; to his brother, Eric Wyatt; to his stepbrother, Billy Dixon; to his grandmothers, Mary Wyatt and Ruth Reynolds; and to his other relatives and many friends; and, be it further RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of U.S. Army Private First Class Stephen Eugene Wyatt. Merritt Craddick Geren Mercer Allen Giddings Merritt Alonzo Goodman Miller Bailey Goolsby Moreno of Harris Baxter Griggs Moreno of El Paso Berman Grusendorf Morrison Bohac Guillen Mowery Bonnen Gutierrez Naishtat Branch Haggerty Nixon Brown of Kaufman Hamilton Noriega Brown of Brazos Hamric Oliveira Burnam Hardcastle Olivo Callegari Harper-Brown Paxton Campbell Hartnett Pena Canales Heflin Phillips Capelo Hegar Pickett Casteel Hilderbran Pitts Castro Hill Puente Chavez Hochberg Quintanilla Chisum Hodge Raymond Christian Homer Reyna Coleman Hope Riddle Cook of Navarro Hopson Ritter Cook of Colorado Howard Rodriguez Corte Hughes Rose Crabb Hunter Seaman Crownover Hupp Smith of Tarrant Davis of Harris Isett Smith of Harris Davis of Dallas Jones of Lubbock Smithee Dawson Jones of Bexar Solis Delisi Jones of Dallas Solomons Denny Keel Stick Deshotel Keffer of Dallas Swinford Driver Keffer of Eastland Talton Dukes King Taylor Dunnam Kolkhorst Telford Dutton Krusee Thompson Edwards Kuempel Truitt Eiland Laney Turner Eissler Laubenberg Uresti Elkins Lewis Van Arsdale Ellis Luna Villarreal Escobar Mabry West Farabee Madden Wilson Farrar Marchant Wise Flores Martinez Fischer Wohlgemuth Flynn McCall Wolens Gallego McClendon Wong Garza McReynolds Woolley Gattis Menendez Zedler ______________________________ Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 253 was unanimously adopted by a rising vote of the House on May 11, 2004. ______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House