| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, January 30, 2013, marks the 45th anniversary of the |
|
|
launching of the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War, and this is a |
|
|
fitting opportunity to remember the nearly 4,000 American military |
|
|
personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice during those harrowing |
|
|
weeks and months; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In the early morning hours of January 30, 1968, in |
|
|
violation of a lunar new year truce, 84,000 North Vietnamese and |
|
|
Viet Cong troops launched the massive Tet Offensive, attacking 105 |
|
|
cities and towns throughout South Vietnam; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Although they were taken by surprise, American |
|
|
troops acquitted themselves with bravery and skill in innumerable |
|
|
instances of bitter combat; notable battles included those in the |
|
|
cities of Saigon and Hue and at the marine base at Khe Sanh and |
|
|
surrounding outposts; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The attacks were eventually repelled, and the Viet |
|
|
Cong were effectively destroyed as a fighting force; the Tet |
|
|
Offensive cost more than 50,000 lives, including those of 14,000 |
|
|
civilians and 3,895 American soldiers; in mid-February alone, 543 |
|
|
Americans were killed, the highest weekly total of the entire war; |
|
|
and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Nearly half a century later, the courage displayed |
|
|
by American troops during the Tet Offensive continues to exemplify |
|
|
the highest standard of bravery, and those who paid the last full |
|
|
measure of devotion are forever deserving of remembrance and honor |
|
|
by the country they served; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the lives of those Americans who |
|
|
fell in battle during the Tet Offensive of the Vietnam War. |