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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Words cannot express the heartache felt at the loss |
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of U.S. Army Private First Class Ira Benjamin Laningham IV of |
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Zapata, who died in Afghanistan on January 7, 2011, at the age of |
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22; and |
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WHEREAS, Private Laningham enlisted in the army in November |
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2009, deploying to Afghanistan in October 2010; he bravely served |
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his country as a member of the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry |
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Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, and his |
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courageous actions earned him the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple |
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Heart, and the National Defense Service Medal; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Greenfield, Massachusetts, on |
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September 1, 1988, Ben Laningham graduated from Zapata High |
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School, where he was trumpet section leader in the marching band and |
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lead trumpet for Mariachi Halcon; he enjoyed playing his guitar and |
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video games and spending time with his family and friends; and |
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WHEREAS, Americans owe a profound debt to our nation's |
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servicemen and servicewomen, whose courageous efforts and enormous |
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sacrifices are deserving of their fellow citizens' deepest respect |
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and gratitude; through his unwavering dedication to duty and honor, |
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Ben Laningham embodied the highest ideals of the United States |
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Army, and memories of his love and friendship will forever be |
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cherished by all those who held him dear; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby pay tribute to the life of U.S. Army Private First Class Ira |
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Benjamin Laningham IV and extend deepest sympathy to the members of |
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his family: to his parents, Norma and Enrique Cantu; to his |
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siblings, Private Joseph Cantu, Enrique Cantu, and Amanda Cantu; to |
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his grandparents, Lauro and Olinda Guerra and Humberto and |
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Felicitas Cantu; and to his other relatives and many 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 and Senate adjourn this day, they do so in memory |
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of Private Ira Benjamin Laningham IV. |