H.R. No. 580R E S O L U T I O N WHEREAS, Dr. Hector P. Garcia of Corpus Christi earned nationwide renown as a humanitarian and civil rights advocate; and WHEREAS, A graduate of The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, this proud patriot joined the United States Army during World War II, immediately after completing his surgical internship; he attained the rank of major in the Medical Corps and earned a Bronze Star with six battle stars for his valorous service; and WHEREAS, Following his military discharge, Dr. Garcia opened a medical practice in Corpus Christi, where he often provided free medical care to those who could not afford to pay, and saw the effects of discrimination against Mexican Americans; and WHEREAS, This truly notable Texan established the American GI Forum, an organization composed primarily of veterans and dedicated to securing equal rights for American Latinos, and throughout his life, he worked for such causes as bilingual education, school desegregation, job creation, and housing; and WHEREAS, The American GI Forum today continues to reflect this remarkable humanitarian's deep commitment to treating others with dignity and to working within the system to effect change; and WHEREAS, Long active in politics on the state and national levels, Dr. Garcia was named by President Lyndon B. Johnson as a member of the National Advisory Council on Economic Opportunity and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and as a delegate to the United Nations, and President Ronald Reagan awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom; and WHEREAS, Beloved by the people of Corpus Christi, "Dr. Hector" was accorded many well-deserved accolades, including having a city park, a post office, and Memorial Medical Center's indigent health clinic named for him; in addition, he received the first honorary doctorate conferred by Texas A&M University--Corpus Christi, which also erected a statue of him and dedicated a plaza on campus in his honor; in 1990, he was further lauded for his exceptional endeavors by Pope John Paul II; and WHEREAS, A man of tremendous decency and compassion, Dr. Garcia devoted his life to the service of others, and through his unrelenting efforts the country he cherished achieved a fuller realization of its highest ideals; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 78th Texas Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Dr. Hector P. Garcia for his immeasurable contributions as a physician and as a leader in the struggle to guarantee civil rights for all Americans. Luna Seaman Capelo Craddick Giddings Merritt Allen Goodman Miller Alonzo Goolsby Moreno of Harris Bailey Griggs Moreno of El Paso Baxter Grusendorf Morrison Berman Guillen Mowery Bohac Gutierrez Naishtat Bonnen Haggerty Nixon Branch Hamilton Noriega Brown of Kaufman Hamric Oliveira Brown of Brazos Hardcastle Olivo Burnam Harper-Brown Paxton Callegari Hartnett Pena Campbell Heflin Phillips Canales Hegar Pickett Capelo Hilderbran Pitts Casteel Hill Puente Castro Hochberg Quintanilla Chavez Hodge Raymond Chisum Homer Reyna Christian Hope Riddle Coleman Hopson Ritter Cook of Navarro Howard Rodriguez Cook of Colorado Hughes Rose Corte Hunter Seaman Crabb Hupp Smith of Tarrant Crownover Isett Smith of Harris Davis of Harris Jones of Lubbock Smithee Davis of Dallas Jones of Bexar Solis Dawson Jones of Dallas Solomons Delisi Keel Stick Denny Keffer of Dallas Swinford Deshotel Keffer of Eastland Talton Driver King Taylor Dukes Kolkhorst Telford Dunnam Krusee Thompson Dutton Kuempel Truitt Edwards Laney Turner Eiland Laubenberg Uresti Eissler Lewis Van Arsdale Elkins Luna Villarreal Ellis Mabry West Farabee Madden Wilson Farrar Marchant Wise Flores Martinez Fischer Wohlgemuth Flynn McCall Wolens Gallego McClendon Wong Garza McReynolds Woolley Gattis Menendez Zedler Geren Mercer ______________________________ Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 580 was unanimously adopted by a rising vote of the House on March 26, 2003. ______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House