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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Members of the Texas Maritime Regiment of the Texas |
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State Guard are marching from Camp Mabry to the State Capitol on |
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April 9, 2011, to commemorate the 69th anniversary of the Bataan |
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Death March; and |
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WHEREAS, In December 1941, hours after the bombing of Pearl |
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Harbor, the Japanese attacked United States military bases in the |
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Philippines; ground forces invaded two weeks later and drove |
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American and Filipino troops from Manila to the Bataan Peninsula, |
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where they fought desperately in the mountainous jungles; cut off |
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from supply lines, the Americans and Filipinos ran out of food and |
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ammunition, and their ranks were decimated by hunger and disease; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, U.S. General Edward King surrendered Bataan on April |
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9, 1942; the next day, some 76,000 Americans and Filipinos were |
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forced to begin marching to a prisoner-of-war camp more than 60 |
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miles away, under the broiling sun with little food and almost no |
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water; soldiers who paused or fell were summarily executed, along |
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with anyone who tried to help them; as many as 11,000 died en route |
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from thirst, starvation, disease, and brutality; eventually, |
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American prisoners of war were transported to slave labor camps in |
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Asia or interned in the camp at Cabanatuan, where 500 who survived |
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were finally liberated three years later by an elite Ranger |
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battalion and the Philippine resistance; and |
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WHEREAS, Citizens of this nation owe an immeasurable debt to |
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the soldiers who fought against overwhelming odds in Bataan, and |
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the courage, patriotism, and resolve they demonstrated under the |
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most extreme deprivation and hardship remain a lasting source of |
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inspiration; it is indeed fitting to pay tribute to those who |
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perished and those who survived the brutal march and suffered |
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further trials as prisoners of war; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the 69th anniversary of the Bataan |
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Death March and honor the profound sacrifice of the valiant |
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soldiers who risked all out of love for their country and dedication |
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to our freedom. |