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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 483
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WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to |
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recognize the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the United States |
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Maritime Administration, Texas A&M University, and the United States |
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Fish and Wildlife Service for their exemplary partnership in |
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acquiring the historic U.S.T.S. Texas Clipper for preparation |
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and deployment as an artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico off the |
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Texas coast; and |
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WHEREAS, The Texas Clipper,commissioned by the United States |
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Navy as the U.S.S. Queens in December of 1944, is a troop transport |
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ship with a rich naval history of service to our country during |
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World War II; the ship and its crew ferried fresh troops into |
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battle and cared for and shuttled the wounded from Iwo Jima; the |
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ship also played a part in the American occupation at Sasebo, Japan, |
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before being decommissioned in 1946; and |
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WHEREAS, From 1948 to 1958, the Texas Clipper was |
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commissioned the S.S. Excambion, one of the postwar Four Aces |
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cruise liners and cargo vessels for American Export Lines that |
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carried passengers from New York City to such Mediterranean ports |
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as Barcelona, Marseilles, Naples, Beirut, Alexandria, and Genoa; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The Texas Clipper was commissioned as the first |
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Texas Maritime Training Academy ship and served sea cadets at |
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Texas A&M University at Galveston from 1965 to 1996; the ship |
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spent summers at sea and provided an ocean-going campus for about |
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200 students at a time; students learned the workings of a ship, |
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studied the world's oceans, and broadened their horizons by |
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studying outside the normal constraints of a classroom; and |
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WHEREAS, After 30 consecutive summer-training cruises, |
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the sailing days of the 50-year-old ship were over, and on |
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August 4, 1994, under the command of Captain Peter Jaime Bourgeois, |
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Texas Clipper completed its final training cruise; for the next |
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two years, it was used as a dockside dormitory for Seaborne |
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Conservation Corps, an educational and job-training program for |
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at-risk high school students; Texas Clipper now joins the proud |
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fleet of Liberty Ships that were deployed as reefs off the |
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Texas coast during 1975 and 1976; and |
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WHEREAS, As an artificial reef, Texas Clipper will enhance |
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fishery resources by creating a habitat that will attract |
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reef-associated species and improve their spawning potential and |
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that will offer a significant recreational site for sports |
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fishermen and divers; the complexity of the ship's structure will |
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provide a habitat for numerous marine species, including |
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demersal and pelagic finfishes, and the Texas Clipper will endure |
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as an environmental, ecological, and economic asset to this |
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state; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, |
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80th Legislature, hereby commend the outstanding professionals |
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of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the United States |
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Maritime Administration, Texas A&M University, and the |
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United States Fish and Wildlife Service for their contributions |
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to the citizens of this state by their acquisition of the Texas |
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Clipper for use as an artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico; and, |
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be it further |
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RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution be prepared in |
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their honor and as an expression of high regard from the |
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Texas Senate. |
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Lucio |
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________________________________ |
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President of the Senate |
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I hereby certify that the |
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above Resolution was adopted by |
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the Senate on March 15, 2007. |
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________________________________ |
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Secretary of the Senate |
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________________________________ |
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Member, Texas Senate |