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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 U.S. |
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Army Colonel (Ret.) James Lloyd Hayden of El Paso, who passed away |
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on June 7, 2011, at the age of 87; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in New York on August 14, 1923, "Buster" Hayden |
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was the son, grandson, and great-grandson of U.S. Military Academy |
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graduates; he spent his early years at West Point, while his father |
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was an instructor there, and he later returned to the academy as a |
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member of the Class of 1945; and |
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WHEREAS, Colonel Hayden's first assignment was with the |
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postwar occupation force in Germany; he later served as a battery |
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commander during the Korean War, commanded two battalions in |
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Germany, and held key posts in the Pentagon and with the Joint |
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Chiefs of Staff; he retired in 1975 as chief of tactics at Fort |
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Bliss, concluding a distinguished 30-year military career; and |
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WHEREAS, Retirement scarcely marked the end of Colonel |
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Hayden's service to the army or to this country, however; in 1976 he |
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became a West Point admissions representative, a post he held until |
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just a few days before his death; for the past 15 years he also |
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chaired the Military Academy Advisory Board for Congressman |
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Silvestre Reyes; and |
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WHEREAS, In his volunteer role assisting the West Point |
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admissions office, Colonel Hayden spent countless hours |
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interviewing and counseling prospective cadets and their families; |
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he continued to stay in contact with students even after their |
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admission to the academy, offering support and encouragement, and |
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in many cases he followed their careers after graduation; |
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altogether, Colonel Hayden worked with more than 600 cadets, a |
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number reportedly unsurpassed by any other admissions |
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representative; and |
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WHEREAS, Among the El Paso students whose ability Colonel |
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Hayden recognized and whom he helped to steer toward West Point are |
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Major General Dana Pittard, who currently serves as the commander |
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of Fort Bliss, and Brigadier General Heidi Brown, who has just been |
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named the deputy commander of test and assessment for the Missile |
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Defense Agency in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama; and |
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WHEREAS, Colonel Hayden gave generously of his time and |
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talents in behalf of many other worthy causes as well; he served as |
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a member of the West Point Association of Graduates Board of |
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Trustees and as president of the Fort Bliss West Point Alumni |
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Association, founded the West Point Parents Club of El Paso, and sat |
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on numerous boards and committees; and |
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WHEREAS, Repeatedly recognized for his exceptional |
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contributions, Colonel Hayden was a recipient of the prestigious |
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West Point Distinguished Graduate Award and the first recipient of |
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the USMA Admissions Distinguished Service Award; the secretary of |
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the army presented him with the Department of the Army Decoration |
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for Exceptional Civilian Service, and in 2010 the Colonel James |
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Hayden Hall, new home to the 31st ADA Brigade headquarters, was |
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dedicated in his honor at Fort Sill; the mayor of El Paso also |
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conferred on him the city's highest honor, the Conquistador Award; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, James Hayden and his wife, the former Eoline T. |
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"Sugar" Thompson, exchanged their wedding vows on October 17, 1947, |
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on Governor's Island, New York; they shared a deeply rewarding |
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union, and over the years they became the proud parents of a son and |
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five daughters; and |
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WHEREAS, An exceptional leader, Colonel Hayden was held in |
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the greatest respect for his unshakeable integrity, keen analytical |
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mind, and genuine concern for others; hundreds of young Texans |
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developed into capable leaders themselves with the aid of his wise |
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counsel, and his transformative influence will live on through |
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them, as it will through all those whose lives he touched and |
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enriched; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
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Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the memory |
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of Colonel (Ret.) James Lloyd Hayden and extend sincere sympathy to |
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the members of his family: to his wife of 64 years, Sugar Hayden; to |
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his 6 children and their spouses; to his 16 grandchildren and 11 |
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great-grandchildren; and to his other relatives and friends; and, |
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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 Colonel |
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(Ret.) James Lloyd Hayden. |