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79R9475 MMS-D

By:  Corte                                                      H.C.R. No. 112



CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	WHEREAS, The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor was established 
by the 58th Texas Legislature to recognize gallant and intrepid 
service by a member of the state military forces, and through his 
courageous actions during battle in World War II, Captain Robert 
Thomas Edlin has proven himself worthy of receiving this 
prestigious honor; and
	WHEREAS, A native of Evansville, Indiana, Captain Edlin was 
born on May 6, 1922, into a large, close-knit family that embraced 
the highest of American values and ideals; and
	WHEREAS, Captain Edlin joined the Indiana National Guard at 
the age of 17 in 1939, the year before the first peacetime draft in 
the nation's history was instituted; he was promoted to staff 
sergeant in April 1941, to second lieutenant in September 1942, and 
to first lieutenant in May 1943; after volunteering for the Rangers 
in December 1943, Lieutenant Edlin was made a platoon leader in 
Company A, Second Ranger Battalion; and
	WHEREAS, On D-Day, June 6, 1944, Lieutenant Edlin helped to 
lead Company A onto Omaha Beach, receiving debilitating wounds in 
both legs; evacuated to England the following day, he rejoined his 
platoon in France on July 15, 1944; and
	WHEREAS, During the late summer of 1944, the Second Ranger 
Battalion was assigned to support the American advance in Britanny; 
on September 9, preceding a dawn attack on the antiaircraft Graf 
Spee, or Lochrist, battery near the French city of Brest, 
Lieutenant Edlin was ordered to lead a four-man reconnaissance 
patrol to spot enemy pillboxes and snipers and chart a way through 
the minefield surrounding the garrison, the capture of which was 
critical in the effort to retake the port city; and
	WHEREAS, The patrol navigated a large minefield and 
encountered a German pillbox, where Lieutenant Edlin captured the 
officer in charge; Lieutenant Edlin then forced the officer to 
escort him and his interpreter to the commanding officer of the Graf 
Spee battery; and
	WHEREAS, On entering the commander's office, Lieutenant 
Edlin took a grenade, pulled the pin, and held the grenade to the 
commander's stomach, forcing him to surrender the fort, along with 
four 280-mm guns, supporting small-arms positions, pillboxes, and 
approximately 800 enemy soldiers; and
	WHEREAS, Recommended by Lieutenant Colonel James Earl 
Rudder, commander of the Second Ranger Battalion, to receive the 
Medal of Honor, Lieutenant Edlin refused to accept the medal in 
order to avoid being reassigned to a unit within the continental 
United States; and
	WHEREAS, Lieutenant Edlin was awarded the Distinguished 
Service Cross for his extraordinary heroism in battle, and in 1995 
he was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame; a book recounting his 
remarkable military service was published in 2002; and
	WHEREAS, This exceptional officer returned to Indiana after 
the war and served in the Indiana National Guard from 1948 to 1954, 
holding the rank of captain; in 1963, acting on the recommendation 
of his former commanding officer, James Rudder, who was then 
president of Texas A&M University, Captain Edlin moved to Corpus 
Christi; over the years, he has continued to serve his fellow 
citizens through his membership in the Veterans of Foreign Wars and 
the Eagles Lodge, as well as through the operation of a successful 
family business known as the Edlin Auction House; and
	WHEREAS, The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor is the highest 
commendation Texans can bestow for military service, and the 
outstanding valor and patriotism manifested by Captain Robert Edlin 
most assuredly merit the award of this state's supreme military 
distinction; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the 79th Legislature of the State of Texas 
hereby award the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor to Captain Robert 
Thomas Edlin in recognition of his heroic service and express to him 
deepest appreciation on behalf of all his fellow Texans; and, be it 
further
	RESOLVED, That the Texas Legislature hereby respectfully 
request the Honorable Rick Perry, governor of the State of Texas, to 
confer the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor on Captain Edlin; and, 
be it further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 
prepared for Captain Edlin as an expression of highest regard by the 
Texas House of Representatives and Senate.