81R34954 JGH-D

By: Isett H.R. No. 2345

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, The family and friends of U.S. Navy Petty Officer Third Class Mark Russell Cannon of Lubbock suffered an immeasurable loss with the death of this brave young Texan in Afghanistan on October 2, 2007, at the age of 31; and

WHEREAS, Petty Officer Cannon served as a hospital corpsman assigned to the 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, During a firefight in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, Petty Officer Cannon rushed to the aid of a wounded Marine, working to treat the injured man's wounds while firing back at the enemy; he saved the man's life, but lost his own; for his heroism that day, he was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star; and

WHEREAS, Mark Cannon was born in Lubbock on November 21, 1975, to Tom and Becky Cannon; a 1994 graduate of Coronado High School, he earned a nursing degree from South Plains College and enlisted in the Navy in 2003; he served a tour of duty in Iraq in 2006 and volunteered to serve in Afghanistan the following year; and

WHEREAS, The State of Texas is proud to claim Mark Cannon as a native son, and the courage and fortitude he demonstrated on that fateful day will forever be remembered by all who were privileged to know him; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of U.S. Navy Petty Officer Third Class Mark Russell Cannon and extend sincere condolences to the members of his family: to his father, Tom Cannon; to his grandmother, Inez Cannon; to his uncles and aunts, Bob and Kathy Orf and Jack and Joyce Cannon; and to his other relatives and 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 Mark Cannon.