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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Family and friends are mourning the loss of Louis |
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Alois Slovak, a lifelong resident of the Ennis area, who passed away |
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on March 31, 2009, at the age of 91; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Slovak was born on March 28, 1918, in the |
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Creechville Community and attended Village Creek School; called up |
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by the United States Army in March 1941, he subsequently served |
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three years in the Panama Canal Zone; and |
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WHEREAS, While on furlough, Mr. Slovak married Lillian |
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Frances Vrana at St. John Nepomucene Catholic Church in Ennis on |
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January 3, 1944; the next day, he reported to Camp Maxey for |
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training, and in the late summer of 1944, he was deployed with his |
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unit, the 32nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized, to the |
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European Theater; and |
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WHEREAS, On December 16, 1944, Mr. Slovak's squadron received |
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the first thrust of the massive German offensive that became known |
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as the Battle of the Bulge; as the early fighting raged, Mr. Slovak |
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was dispatched on reconnaissance, and on December 17 he and his |
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patrol were captured behind German lines; after narrowly escaping |
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summary execution, he spent the next four months as a prisoner of |
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war; and |
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WHEREAS, Liberated at the end of the fighting in Europe, Mr. |
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Slovak was honorably discharged as a corporal in August 1945; among |
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the numerous military awards conferred on this valiant Texan was |
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the Purple Heart; and |
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WHEREAS, Following the war, Mr. Slovak farmed in Creechville |
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and worked at Leggett and Platt, the Norris Lumber Company, and the |
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Pearl Beer Distributing Company; active in the area's Czech |
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community, he was a valued member of St. John Nepomucene and the |
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KJT, as well as the Disabled American Veterans, the American |
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Ex-Prisoners of War, VFW Post No. 7106, and the Catholic Order of |
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Foresters; and |
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WHEREAS, Louis Slovak exemplified the best values of a |
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generation that helped to preserve democracy and liberty at |
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tremendous personal cost and that built a stronger, more prosperous |
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society, and it is a privilege to honor his memory; now, therefore, |
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be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Louis Alois Slovak and |
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extend sincere sympathy to the members of his family: to his |
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beloved wife of 65 years, Lillian Slovak; to his children and their |
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spouses, Danny and Evelyn Slovak, Dolores Sykora, Ronnie and Susan |
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Slovak, Michael and Laura Slovak, Timothy Slovak, and Judy Venable; |
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to his brother, Bill Slovak and his wife, Mary, and his sister, |
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Lillie Honza; to his 13 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren; |
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and to his other relatives and friends; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for his family, and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Louis Alois |
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Slovak. |
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Pitts |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 2692 was unanimously adopted by a |
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rising vote of the House on May 31, 2009. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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