S.C.R. No. 26

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor was established to recognize gallant and intrepid service by a member of the state or federal military forces, and Lieutenant Colonel Ed Dyess, a highly decorated aviator and warrior called "the One-Man Scourge of the Japanese" during World War II due to his remarkable adaptive ability to fight a relentless, ruthless enemy in the Pacific Theater as a combat pilot, infantry commander, prisoner of war, and guerrilla, would be a fitting recipient of this prestigious award; and

WHEREAS, Born in Albany, Shackelford County, on August 9, 1916, William Edwin Dyess exhibited natural leadership skills as the student body president at Albany High School and as the class president and commander of the R.O.T.C. detachment at John Tarleton Agricultural College (now Tarleton State University); a distinguished graduate of the flight schools at Randolph Field, known as "the West Point of the Air," and Kelly Field in San Antonio, Dyess was appointed commanding officer of the 21st Pursuit Squadron and deployed to the Philippine Islands in 1941, where he would become one of the first Americans to engage the enemy in World War II; and

WHEREAS, During the early phase of the Pacific War, First Lieutenant Dyess shot down six enemy planes, actions that would have classified him as an "ace" if not for the lack of gun cameras and the destruction by American forces of military records to prevent them from falling into enemy hands; in late January 1942, during an emergency shortage of combat aircraft, Dyess demonstrated exceptional skill as a marksman and motivator as he led his ill-equipped and inexperienced squadron of airmen in infantry combat through the jungles of the Bataan Peninsula during the "Battle of the Points"; and

WHEREAS, On February 8, 1942, Captain Dyess volunteered to lead America's first amphibious landing of World War II, at Agloloma Bay, to root out two enemy battalions that had entrenched themselves with orders from Japanese commanding General Masaharu Homma to wreak havoc behind the Filipino-American lines; Dyess was the first man ashore, selflessly exposing himself to enemy fire while engaging enemy positions with a Lewis machine gun and motivating his apprehensive 20-man force to join him; amidst exploding bombs, Dyess and his party secured the beachhead using automatic weapons and hand grenades and eliminated approximately 75 heavily armed, elite Japanese troops who had fortified themselves in caves; the failure of General Homma's operation allowed American forces in the Philippines to hold out a few months longer, trapping enemy resources and giving America time to mobilize in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor; and

WHEREAS, On March 2, 1942, Dyess led nine pilots flying five battered warplanes in a daring raid on the enemy supply depot at Subic Bay, Luzon; flying a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk rigged to carry 500-pound bombs, Dyess braved heavy antiaircraft fire, engaged an enemy cruiser, and ultimately destroyed one 12,000-ton transport, one 6,000-ton vessel, at least two 100-ton motor launches, and a handful of barges and lighters; in order to save face, Radio Tokyo reported that 54 bombers and swarms of fighter planes had been responsible for the attack; Dyess was presented with the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest military decoration that can be awarded, for the extraordinary heroism that he displayed on this occasion; and

WHEREAS, Although many officers began to shirk their duties and pull rank as the military situation deteriorated, Dyess worked hard to boost the morale of his men, cleaning cockpits and flying countless reconnaissance, resupply, and evacuation missions; he sometimes flew up to 1,400 miles through enemy skies to bring back desperately needed medicines and telegrams for his men; and

WHEREAS, Dyess refused multiple opportunities to leave the doomed Bataan Peninsula and endeavored to ensure others were evacuated before him; Dyess personally supervised the boarding of evacuees on the last flyable aircraft on Bataan; the final seat was reserved for Dyess himself, but at the last second he ordered a friend onto the plane in his stead; and

WHEREAS, After the surrender of 75,000 American and Filipino troops on Bataan on April 9, 1942, Dyess endured the most horrific war crime in the history of the United States, the Bataan Death March; Dyess watched as prisoners of war were denied water and medical care, beaten, beheaded, whipped, shot, buried alive, run over by tanks, and used for bayonet practice; due to his height, fair complexion, and status as an officer, Dyess was singled out for mistreatment and suffered through savage beatings; despite this, Dyess shepherded his men forward, helped the wounded, and noted the horrors taking place around him so that he could describe them in a firsthand account; for the next six months, Dyess endured starvation, disease, interrogation, and torture in two squalid prison camps on Luzon, where he continued to encourage and aid his fellow prisoners, smuggling food and medicine to those in need; and

WHEREAS, In November 1942, Captain Dyess arrived at the Davao Penal Colony, known as "Dapecol," a reportedly escape-proof prison plantation where 2,000 American prisoners of war were being forced to work as slave laborers; while at Dapecol, Dyess co-organized a team of United States military personnel to execute the only large-scale prison break of prisoners of war in the Pacific War; Dyess volunteered for the dangerous task of transporting the escape party's gear on a bull cart past multiple guard checkpoints; on April 4, 1943, the "Davao Dozen," 10 American prisoners of war and two Filipino convicts, made their amazing escape through a deep, crocodile-infested swamp; after eluding search parties, Dyess fought alongside Filipino guerrilla forces behind enemy lines before evacuating to Australia in July 1943; he received a promotion to major and was personally presented with his second Distinguished Service Cross, in the form of a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, by General MacArthur on July 30, 1943; and

WHEREAS, Dyess would have enjoyed a hero's welcome had his superiors not consigned him to a military hospital in the mountains of West Virginia, where he was subjected to secret debriefings by government officials; he was sequestered there because the government feared that his story, if released to the public, would jeopardize the "Europe First" strategic policy and Pacific prisoner of war relief efforts of the Allies; despite suffering from depression and severe post-traumatic stress disorder, Dyess was determined to make his account of the Bataan Death March and other atrocities known to the public, and he entered into a publishing agreement with the Chicago Tribune; his epic story, trumpeted by the War Department as "The Greatest Story of the War in the Pacific," was eventually released on January 28, 1944, skillfully timed to harness the full fury of America's anger; stagnant war bond sales and service enlistment numbers soared as Dyess's revelations forced America out of a mid-war complacency; and

WHEREAS, Lieutenant Colonel Dyess never lived to see his remarkable story take hold of America; during a routine flight over Los Angeles on December 22, 1943, his P-38 Lightning began to have engine trouble; rather than bailing out and letting his plane careen into a crowded residential area, Dyess attempted an emergency city street landing, but he pulled up at the last moment to avoid hitting a motorist who had strayed into his path; while attempting to guide his crippled aircraft onto a vacant lot, he struck a church and was killed instantly when his plane crashed; Dyess was awarded the Soldier's Medal posthumously in recognition of a heroic act not involving an armed enemy; Dyess's family resisted the public's clamor for his interment at Arlington National Cemetery and instead buried him in his beloved home state in the Albany Cemetery; to this day, the only public recognition of Dyess and his incredible life was the renaming of Abilene Air Force Base to Dyess Air Force Base in 1956; and

WHEREAS, Lieutenant Colonel Ed Dyess risked his life repeatedly in defense of his country, and he put the welfare of his fellow prisoners of war ahead of his own; he revealed to the American people a vital aspect of the war, and he ultimately sacrificed his own life to save the life of another; he is most assuredly deserving of this state's supreme military award; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas hereby direct the governor of the State of Texas to award the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor posthumously to Lieutenant Colonel Ed Dyess in recognition of his extraordinary military service and remarkable succession of valorous acts in World War II.

______________________________ ______________________________

President of the Senate Speaker of the House

I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 26 was adopted by the Senate on May 14, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

______________________________ Secretary of the Senate

I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 26 was adopted by the House on May 22, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 140, Nays 0, two present not voting.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House

Approved:

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Date

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Governor