|
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
WHEREAS, Family and friends will forever treasure their |
|
memories of Gregorio C. Barrera of Rio Grande City, who died on |
|
April 16, 2015, at the age of 98; and |
|
WHEREAS, Born in Rio Grande City on March 12, 1917, to Antonio |
|
and Genoveva Barrera, Gregorio Barrera was a proud veteran of the |
|
U.S. Army who survived one of the most harrowing episodes in World |
|
War II, the Bataan Death March; and |
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Barrera volunteered for the army in 1941, and he |
|
was already serving in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked |
|
Pearl Harbor; in April 1942, he was one of 76,000 American and |
|
Filipino soldiers who had no choice but to surrender to the Japanese |
|
Army at Bataan; the prisoners were forced to march 70 miles in six |
|
days through brutal heat with little food or water, and |
|
approximately 10,000 of them died of disease or were killed by their |
|
captors; the stronger of the survivors, including Mr. Barrera, were |
|
shipped to a POW camp in Osaka, Japan, where many more perished |
|
because of forced labor, starvation, and the denial of medical |
|
care; and |
|
WHEREAS, Relying upon his strong religious faith and his |
|
indomitable will, Mr. Barrera survived until Japan was defeated and |
|
the camp was liberated in 1945; he recuperated at military |
|
hospitals in the Philippines and San Antonio before returning to |
|
civilian life in Rio Grande City, where for many years he shared the |
|
details of his ordeal with only a few people; and |
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Barrera was joined in matrimony to Teresa |
|
Hernandez in 1949, and they enjoyed their lives together until her |
|
death in January 2015; he was the father of five children, Gregorio, |
|
Sylvia, and Ruben, as well as Juan Jose and Irma, who preceded him |
|
in death; later in life, he was blessed with 13 grandchildren, 17 |
|
great-grandchildren, and a great-great-grandchild; and |
|
WHEREAS, After working as a janitor for a time, Mr. Barrera |
|
joined the U.S. Postal Service in 1957, and he served as a postal |
|
carrier until his retirement; he was a member of the Immaculate |
|
Conception Catholic Church and the Rio Grande City chapter of the |
|
Knights of Columbus; and |
|
WHEREAS, In 1988, Mr. Barrera's wartime sacrifice was |
|
recognized when the City of Rio Grande named a plaza in his honor, |
|
and in 2013, the plaza was renovated and rededicated in his honor; |
|
and |
|
WHEREAS, A loving husband, a devoted father, and an American |
|
hero, Gregorio Barrera survived the darkest trials of war and came |
|
home to create a rich and fulfilling life for himself and his family |
|
and to inspire others with his bravery and determination; now, |
|
therefore, be it |
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
|
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Gregorio C. Barrera |
|
and extend sincere condolences to the members of his family: to his |
|
children, Gregorio Barrera Jr. and his wife, Cynthia, Sylvia De La |
|
Garza and her husband, Eduardo, and Ruben Barrera and his wife, |
|
Silvestra; to his 13 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, and 1 |
|
great-great-grandchild; and to his other relatives and friends; |
|
and, be it further |
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
|
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Gregorio C. |
|
Barrera. |