This website will be unavailable from Thursday, May 30, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, June 3, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. due to data center maintenance.

                                                                                

78R3378 MMS-D

By:  Madden                                                       H.R. No. 198



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, The Honorable Sam Johnson, United States 
representative for the Third Congressional District of Texas, is 
marking the 30th anniversary of his release as a prisoner of war in 
Vietnam and his return to the Lone Star State; and
	WHEREAS, A career air force officer who flew with the Air 
Force Thunderbirds and was a veteran of 62 combat missions during 
the Korean War, Lieutenant Colonel Johnson was flying his 25th 
combat mission in Vietnam when he was shot down on April 16, 1966; 
ejecting from his plane, he sustained a dislocated shoulder, broken 
arm, and broken back; and
	WHEREAS, Following his capture, Lieutenant Colonel Johnson 
was held at camps known as Alcatraz and the Hanoi Hilton; he endured 
72 days in leg stocks and 2-1/2 years in leg irons, as well as 3-1/2 
years in solitary confinement; he was ultimately released on 
February 12, 1973, having spent nearly seven years in captivity; 
and
	WHEREAS, This distinguished officer retired from the service 
with the rank of colonel in 1979; over the course of his 29-year 
career in the air force he received two Silver Stars, two Legions of 
Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, one Bronze Star with Valor, 
two Purple Hearts, four Air Medals, and three Outstanding Unit 
Awards; his book Captive Warriors:  A Vietnam POW's Story was 
published by Texas A&M University in 1992; and
	WHEREAS, In 1984, after a few short years in private life, 
Congressman Johnson won election to the Texas House of 
Representatives, where he served three terms; he has represented 
the Third Congressional District in Washington, D.C., since 1991, 
and is now the highest-ranking Texan on the Ways and Means Committee 
and the Committee on Education and the Workforce; he also advises 
informally on issues regarding military readiness and serves on the 
Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution; and
	WHEREAS, Congressman Johnson's outstanding contributions to 
his country and his immeasurable sacrifice in its behalf represent 
the highest measure of patriotism, and it is a privilege to join his 
wife Shirley, his three children, and his 10 grandchildren in 
celebrating on February 17, 2003, the 30th anniversary of his 
return to Texas; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 78th Texas 
Legislature hereby honor Congressman Sam Johnson on the 30th 
anniversary of his release from the prisoner of war camps of North 
Vietnam and extend to him its profound appreciation for his 
lifetime of exemplary public service; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 
prepared for Congressman Johnson as a token of high regard by the 
Texas House of Representatives.