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79R6146 JTR-D
By: Veasey H.R. No. 723
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The citizens of Fort Worth are fortunate indeed to
welcome members of the Tuskegee Airmen to their city in March and
April of this year, and the event provides an opportunity to reflect
on this elite military brotherhood's singular stature in American
history; and
WHEREAS, Formed in 1941, the Tuskegee Airmen were the first
African Americans to be trained as U.S. military pilots, and almost
a thousand young men graduated from the program by the end of World
War II; and
WHEREAS, In dedicating themselves to the service of a country
in which they still routinely suffered the injuries of personal and
institutional bigotry, the Tuskegee Airmen not only embodied
courage and daring but also represented an important first step in
our nation's struggle toward the ideals of equality and racial
justice; and
WHEREAS, Among the members of this remarkable group are Lee
Archer, Roscoe Brown, Bob Ashby, Claude E. Platte, Lloyd McKeethen,
Bill Wheeler, Victor Terrelonge, Bill Hollomen, Bill Ellis, Leo
Gray, Alex Jefferson, Dick Macon, John Learh, James Sheppard, and
Howard Baugh, as well as Tess Spooner, the first vice president of
Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., and bomber pilot Herb Heilbrum; and
WHEREAS, Throughout history, the actions of a select few have
resonated far beyond their immediate circumstances to empower and
inspire the generations that follow in their wake, and the members
of the Tuskegee Airmen are indisputably among these few; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas
Legislature hereby welcome members of the Tuskegee Airmen to Texas
and extend to them sincere best wishes for an enjoyable stay in the
Lone Star State.