SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 557

WHEREAS, The winning of World War II required the dedication and sacrifice of millions of Americans and their families, and the demands of that titanic struggle fell especially heavily on the Trevino family of Zapata, who sent six brothers into harm's way; and

WHEREAS, Descendants of land-grant owners in Zapata County, Filiberto and Luisa Cuellar Trevino were the parents of six sons and four daughters, and over the course of World War II, all six brothers served honorably in the United States Army, in locations around the world and in several different theaters of combat; and

WHEREAS, The family's oldest son, Teodoro, joined the army in June 1941, before the attack on Pearl Harbor; a medic in the Medical Corps for four and a half years, he served first in Arkansas and later in India; Antonio Trevino enlisted in the army three days after Pearl Harbor and served for four years with the Coast Artillery Corps; sent to England after various postings stateside, he subsequently led an antiaircraft crew in France in the months after D-Day; and

WHEREAS, Anselmo Trevino, Filiberto Trevino Jr., and their maternal uncle Manuel Cuellar were all sworn into the army on November 10, 1942, and reported to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio; Anselmo Trevino served in Arkansas for five and a half months before receiving an honorable discharge for a leg injury; Filiberto Trevino served in England for 25 months as a member of the 1924th Ordnance Ammunition Company of the United States Army Air Corps, loading and unloading bombs and small arms from trucks; and

WHEREAS, Leopoldo Trevino joined the army in June 1943 and served with the 586th Antiaircraft Battalion; after reporting to Fort Bliss in El Paso and training at Fort Bowie in Arizona, he was sent via Seattle to Oahu, Hawaii; in 1944, he took part in the invasion of Okinawa, where he and his battalion survived a typhoon by taking shelter in their tents and in caves formerly occupied by the Japanese army; and

WHEREAS, The family's youngest son, Jose Manuel Trevino, was inducted at Fort Sam Houston in May 1944; the following December he shipped out to Germany, where he served with a machine-gun squad and sustained injuries from both a road accident and enemy fire; and

WHEREAS, During the war, the Trevino brothers were often unable to contact their family for months at a time; their father spent many evenings in a local barber shop, listening for news of his sons' units on the radio, while Mrs. Trevino and her three surviving daughters, Adelina, Maria Concepcion, and Luisa, prayed at home for their safe return; and

WHEREAS, By June 1946, the Trevino brothers had all been honorably discharged and had returned to their loving family; today, 70 years after the end of the war, five of the brothers have passed away, but Leopoldo Trevino remains to honor their memory and to pass the story of their heroism down to younger generations, who have benefited from their sacrifice; and

WHEREAS, These esteemed Texans exemplified the best values of a generation that helped to preserve democracy and liberty during the most far-reaching conflict in world history, and their fellow citizens owe them a profound and lasting debt of gratitude; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 84th Legislature, hereby honor Leopoldo Trevino and pay tribute to the memory of Teodoro Trevino, Antonio Trevino, Jose Manuel Trevino, Filiberto Trevino Jr., and Anselmo Trevino for their courageous service to this nation during World War II; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That an official copy of this Resolution be prepared for the Trevino family as an expression of high regard from the Texas Senate.

Zaffirini

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President of the Senate

I hereby certify that the above Resolution was adopted by the Senate on April 14, 2015.

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Secretary of the Senate

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Member, Texas Senate