| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, The family and friends of U.S. Army Corporal Mathew |
|
|
LaForest of Austin suffered an immeasurable loss with the death of |
|
|
this courageous young man on May 25, 2007, at the age of 21; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Corporal LaForest was killed in combat in Taji, |
|
|
Iraq, while bravely serving his nation as a member of the 4th |
|
|
Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, |
|
|
2nd Infantry Division, based at Fort Lewis, Washington; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Born on February 7, 1986, at Clark Air Force Base in |
|
|
the Philippines, Mathew LaForest was the son of Mark LaForest and |
|
|
Deborah Turner; a 2004 graduate of Bowie High School in Austin, he |
|
|
was a member of the Bowie Band and the Junior Reserve Officers' |
|
|
Training Corps, and he played soccer with the Austin United Soccer |
|
|
Club; his military service began shortly after he finished high |
|
|
school when he enlisted in the U.S. Army; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Corporal LaForest was known for his quiet, easygoing |
|
|
personality and his willingness to help anyone who needed a hand; he |
|
|
enjoyed racing his car and spending time with friends, and his quick |
|
|
and endearing smile was treasured by all who knew him; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Through his unwavering dedication to duty, honor, |
|
|
and this country, Corporal LaForest embodied the highest ideals of |
|
|
the United States armed services, and his fellow citizens owe him a |
|
|
debt of remembrance that the passage of time can never diminish; |
|
|
now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of U.S. Army Corporal |
|
|
Mathew LaForest and extend deepest condolences to the members of |
|
|
his family: to his father, Mark LaForest, and his wife, Suzette; to |
|
|
his mother, Deborah Baughn, and her husband, Dana; to his sister, |
|
|
Jessica LaForest; to his brothers, Devon Mitchell and Brandon |
|
|
Baughn; to his grandparents, Judy LaForest and Donald and Sandra |
|
|
Turner; to his uncles, Bill and Mike LaForest; to his aunts, Lonnee |
|
|
Rorison and her husband, Steve, and Tammy Lacy and her husband, |
|
|
Mike; and to his other relatives and many friends; and, be it |
|
|
further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
|
|
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of U.S. Army |
|
|
Corporal Mathew LaForest. |
| |
|
|
Corte |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Speaker of the House |
| |
|
|
I certify that H.R. No. 2299 was unanimously adopted by a |
|
|
rising vote of the House on May 21, 2009. |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Chief Clerk of the House |
| |