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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The papers of one of the Lone Star State's most |
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highly decorated military heroes, Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez, |
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are being donated by his family to the Institute for Studies in |
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American Military History at The University of Texas at Austin |
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Center for American History; and |
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WHEREAS, Born on August 5, 1935, in DeWitt County, Sergeant |
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Benavidez enlisted in the United States Army in 1955 and through |
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superior mental and physical prowess became a member of the Special |
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Forces, a Green Beret; and |
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WHEREAS, While serving in Vietnam in 1965, Roy Benavidez was |
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seriously wounded after stepping on a land mine; despite the doubts |
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of his doctors, he regained the full use of his legs and returned to |
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Vietnam for a second tour of duty; and |
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WHEREAS, On May 2, 1968, Sergeant Benavidez initiated a |
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daring mission to extract 12 Special Forces soldiers who had been |
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trapped by North Vietnamese forces; during six hours of brutal |
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fighting, in the course of which he was severely wounded, he saved |
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the lives of eight Special Forces soldiers and helped to retrieve |
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the bodies of four others; and |
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WHEREAS, His actions that day earned Sergeant Benavidez the |
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Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Texas |
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Legislative Medal of Honor; and |
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WHEREAS, The exceptional bravery that Sergeant Benavidez |
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displayed has also occasioned the naming of several Texas schools, |
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a National Guard Armory, an Army Reserve center, a U.S. naval ship, |
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and a city park in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in his honor; a GI |
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Joe action figure, the first to depict a Hispanic soldier, has also |
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been designed with his likeness; and |
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WHEREAS, Following his retirement from the military in 1976, |
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Sergeant Benavidez gave generously of his time and energy to |
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numerous veterans' organizations; he also traveled throughout the |
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country to speak to schoolchildren, whom he encouraged to stay in |
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school and avoid such dangers as drugs and gangs; and |
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WHEREAS, The gift of the Benavidez Papers to UT was |
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facilitated by Steve Sucher, a longtime family friend and |
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confidant; collected over a period of more than 30 years, the papers |
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are expected to form the cornerstone of an archive at the institute |
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centered on Medal of Honor recipients from Texas; this material |
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will constitute a significant resource for all who would seek to |
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understand and tell the stories of those individuals and the wars |
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they fought; and |
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WHEREAS, A soldier of extraordinary selflessness and |
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courage, Roy Benavidez inspired countless individuals during his |
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life, and the donation of his papers to one of the outstanding |
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archives in the country ensures that his influence will continue to |
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reach Americans for generations to come; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the donation of the Master Sergeant |
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Roy P. Benavidez Papers to The University of Texas at Austin and |
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extend deepest thanks to Sergeant Benavidez's wife, Hilaria |
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Benavidez, and his children, Noel Benavidez, Yvette Benavidez |
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Garcia, and Denise Benavidez Prochazka, for this invaluable gift; |
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and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for the Benavidez family as an expression of high regard by |
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the Texas House of Representatives. |