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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Words cannot adequately express the sorrow felt at |
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the loss of U.S. Army First Lieutenant Brandon J. Landrum of Lawton, |
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Oklahoma, who died in Afghanistan on May 4, 2013, at the age of 26; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st |
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Battalion, 36th Infantry, 1st Armored Division out of Fort Bliss, |
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First Lieutenant Landrum was one of five soldiers killed when their |
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vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in Maiwand, |
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Afghanistan; and |
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WHEREAS, Brandon Landrum was born in Lawton on December 5, |
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1986, to Jim and Jan Landrum; he graduated with honors from |
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MacArthur High School and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2005; in |
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2008, he was deployed to Iraq, where he met another soldier, Miranda |
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Shae Hornbeck, and they returned home on leave to be married in |
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Lawton in May 2009; the couple were blessed with two children, |
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Gabriel and Blakely; and |
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WHEREAS, After earning a bachelor's degree with honors from |
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Cameron University, this outstanding soldier earned a commission as |
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a second lieutenant and attended the Infantry Basic Officer Leaders |
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Course and Airborne School; in January 2012, he assumed the command |
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of a rifle platoon at Fort Bliss at the rank of first lieutenant, |
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and the following September he was selected to serve as |
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Reconnaissance Platoon leader; he was deployed to Afghanistan in |
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December 2012; and |
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WHEREAS, First Lieutenant Landrum's commendations include a |
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posthumous Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart, as well as the Army |
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Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal with one oak leaf |
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cluster, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Global War on Terrorism |
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Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq |
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Campaign Medal with a campaign star, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal |
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with a campaign star, a posthumous NATO Medal, and the Combat |
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Infantryman Badge; and |
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WHEREAS, Although the tragic death of this brave young man is |
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a sobering reminder of the cost of war, Brandon Landrum embodied the |
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highest ideals of the U.S. armed forces, and those who knew and |
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loved him will forever carry him close in their hearts; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of U.S. Army First |
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Lieutenant Brandon J. Landrum and extend sincere condolences to the |
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members of his family: to his wife, Miranda; to his children, |
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Gabriel Brandon Landrum and Blakely Reagan Landrum; to his parents, |
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Jim and Jan Landrum; to his sisters, Ali Church-Pugh and her |
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husband, Sherman, Melissa Griego-Kastner and her husband, Kayle, |
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and Eryn Killingsworth and her husband, Andrew; to his in-laws, |
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Paula and Ross Hornbeck, Kayla Hornbeck, and Anthony Hornbeck; to |
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his nieces and nephews, Kena Church, Riley Pugh, Ethan and Logan |
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Griego, Kaden, Morgan, Tyler, Trevor, and Hunter Kastner, Kirsten |
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and Mikayla Killingsworth, and Ty Chandler; and to his other |
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relatives and friends; and, 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 Brandon |
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Landrum. |
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N. Gonzalez of El Paso |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 2636 was unanimously adopted by a |
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rising vote of the House on May 24, 2013. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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