| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, Second Lieutenant Jacob A. Fernandez has displayed |
|
|
exceptional valor while serving his country with the U.S. Marine |
|
|
Corps, and he is truly worthy of special recognition; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Born on August 13, 1984, to Midiam M. Flores and |
|
|
Ralph Anthony Fernandez, Jacob Fernandez graduated from Del Rio |
|
|
High School in 2002; determined to serve his nation after the |
|
|
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, this patriotic young man |
|
|
enlisted in the marines and reported for recruit training in August |
|
|
2002; following boot camp, he completed the 52-day Infantry |
|
|
Training Battalion course at the School of Infantry at Camp |
|
|
Pendleton, California; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Jacob Fernandez then deployed to Iraq with Kilo |
|
|
Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, as part of Operation |
|
|
Iraqi Freedom; he subsequently returned to Iraq with the 3/5 for two |
|
|
more combat tours and saw action in the battle for Fallujah; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, This outstanding Texan also continued his military |
|
|
training, completing the Infantry Squad Leader Course, in which he |
|
|
received the Gung Ho Award, and the Infantry Platoon Sergeants |
|
|
Course; motivated by his desire to pursue a career as a Marine Corps |
|
|
officer, Jacob Fernandez applied to the Marine Corps Enlisted |
|
|
Commissioning Educational Program and was accepted in the fall of |
|
|
2006; after completing the preparatory course at San Diego, he |
|
|
enrolled at The University of Texas at Austin, where he majored in |
|
|
geography and participated in the Naval Reserve Officer Training |
|
|
Corps program; during the summer of his freshman year at UT, he |
|
|
attended Officer Candidate School at Quantico, Virginia, where he |
|
|
finished in the top 10 percent of his class; he earned his bachelor |
|
|
of arts degree on December 15, 2010, and received his commission as |
|
|
a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps on March 25, 2011; On |
|
|
June 7, 2011, he reports to The Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, |
|
|
to continue his training as an officer; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Among the many decorations and awards conferred on |
|
|
Second Lieutenant Fernandez by the marines are the Purple Heart, |
|
|
four Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, including two with |
|
|
the Combat Distinguishing Device for Valor, a Combat Action Ribbon, |
|
|
the Presidential Unit Citation, two Navy Unit Citations, and two |
|
|
Good Conduct Medals; moreover, he is the recipient of the National |
|
|
Defense Service Medal, two Iraq Campaign Medals, the Global War on |
|
|
Terrorism Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, |
|
|
and three Sea Service Deployment Ribbons; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Second Lieutenant Jacob Fernandez embodies the |
|
|
Marine Corps values of honor, courage, and commitment, and he has |
|
|
earned the lasting respect and gratitude of all Americans; now, |
|
|
therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby honor Second Lieutenant Jacob A. Fernandez for |
|
|
his service with the United States Marine Corps and extend to him |
|
|
sincere best wishes for continued success in all his endeavors; |
|
|
and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for Second Lieutenant Fernandez as an expression of high |
|
|
regard by the Texas House of Representatives. |