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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Major James R. Stegall (Ret.) of Austin rendered |
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exceptional service to this country as an aviator in two wars and as |
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a career officer in the United States Army; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Bullard on February 6, 1922, and raised in |
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East Austin, Major Stegall enlisted in the Texas Army National |
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Guard directly after his graduation from Austin High School in |
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1940; he was mobilized into federal service on November 25, 1940, as |
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part of the 36th Infantry Division; and |
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WHEREAS, Major Stegall shipped out with the 36th Infantry for |
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North Africa in April 1943 and saw his first combat the following |
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September, when American forces established a beachhead at Salerno, |
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Italy; appointed as a liaison pilot, Major Stegall served as a |
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forward observer for the artillery, spotting targets and adjusting |
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artillery fire to increase its effectiveness exponentially; he |
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performed this duty flying at 55 miles per hour in unarmed, |
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single-engine Piper Cub L-4s, known as Grasshoppers, which measured |
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a mere 21 feet in length and 35 feet from wing tip to wing tip; |
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Major Stegall's tour of duty in Italy extended into 1944 and |
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included service at Rapido River; and |
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WHEREAS, At the conclusion of World War II, Major Stegall |
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decided to make the army his career; subsequently designated an |
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army aviator, he saw combat again in the Korean War, flying |
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Grasshoppers once more in support of artillery; after landing with |
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the 7th Infantry Division at Incheon in September 1950, he took part |
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in the push to the Yalu River, in fighting near the Chosin |
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Reservoir, and later in the drive back to the 38th parallel; and |
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WHEREAS, Time and again, Major Stegall demonstrated |
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unflinching courage and tenacity; once in Italy, a group of German |
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fighters shot his wing strut in half, but he was able to land his |
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plane, jump into another, and continue his mission; in Korea, when |
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the Chinese overran American troops and some of the latter were left |
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behind, encircled by the enemy, Major Stegall returned to the |
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trapped soldiers seven times to bring out the wounded, in spite of |
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intense ground fire; and |
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WHEREAS, Major Stegall was awarded the Silver Star with one |
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Oak Leaf Cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross with one Oak Leaf |
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Cluster, the Air Medal with 25 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army |
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Commendation Ribbon, and a host of service medals and appendages; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, This valiant Texan retired from the service in 1961; |
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he and his wife, Doris, now make their home in East Austin, where |
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they have long resided; and |
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WHEREAS, In recognition of his outstanding military record, |
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the Texas Aviation Association has nominated Major Stegall for |
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induction into the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame at the Lone Star |
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Flight Museum in Galveston; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby extend to Major James R. Stegall its profound appreciation |
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for a job well done and recommend that he be inducted into the Texas |
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Aviation Hall of Fame; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Major Stegall and forwarded to the Texas Aviation Hall |
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of Fame and the Lone Star Flight Museum as an expression of high |
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regard by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate. |