H.R. No. 1469

	R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, April 18, 2017, marks the 75th anniversary of the
	famous Doolittle Raid during World War II, and this occasion
	provides a fitting opportunity to pay tribute to the heroism of
	retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Richard Cole, the last
	surviving member of that mission; and
	WHEREAS, Only four months after the devastating attack on
	Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the U.S. Army Air Forces staged a
	daring raid on Japan; led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, 16
	B-25B Mitchell bombers took off from the aircraft carrier USS
	Hornet to bomb six Japanese cities; and
	WHEREAS, Afterward, one of the bombers landed in Russia,
	while the other 15 either ditched in the sea or crashed in China; of
	the 80 men who took part in the mission, three died during the raid,
	eight were taken prisoner, and the rest eventually returned to
	rejoin the war effort; while the raid had no significant military
	effect, it boosted the morale of the American public and showed the
	Japanese that they could not defend their home islands from attack;
	and
	WHEREAS, Dick Cole was born on September 7, 1915, in Dayton,
	Ohio; he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1940 and was commissioned
	as a second lieutenant in July 1941; the following spring, he
	volunteered for an unspecified "dangerous mission" after seeing a
	notice on a bulletin board, and it was only two days after he and the
	other members of the mission had set sail from California that they
	learned their objective was Japan; during the raid itself,
	Lieutenant Cole served as Colonel Doolittle's copilot in the lead
	aircraft; after dropping their payload on Tokyo, the two men and
	their crew flew southwestward until they ran out of fuel and then
	bailed out over China, where Lieutenant Cole spent the first night
	hanging by his parachute from a pine tree; and
	WHEREAS, Dick Cole remained in the China-Burma-India theater
	until June 1943 and served there again from October 1943 to June
	1944; in the years following the war, he achieved a notable career
	in the U.S. Air Force; his military commendations include the
	Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak-leaf clusters, the Bronze
	Star, the Air Medal with one oak-leaf cluster, the Air Force
	Commendation Medal, and the Chinese Army, Navy, and Air Corps
	Medal, class A, 1st grade; and
	WHEREAS, Now living in Comfort, Texas, Colonel Cole embodies
	the selfless, courageous spirit of the 80 brave comrades who, in
	carrying out a perilous and audacious assignment, lifted the
	spirits of a nation during one of its darkest hours and helped
	inspire its armed forces to their eventual victory over the Axis
	Powers; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas
	Legislature hereby commend Lieutenant Colonel Richard Cole for his
	heroic service during the Doolittle Raid and extend to him sincere
	best wishes for continued happiness; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
	prepared for Lieutenant Colonel Cole as an expression of high
	regard by the Texas House of Representatives.
	Cyrier
	Straus Goldman Oliverson
	Allen Gonzales of Williamson Ortega
	Alonzo González of El Paso Paddie
	Alvarado Gooden Parker
	Anchia Guerra Paul
	Anderson of Dallas Guillen Perez
	Anderson of McLennan Gutierrez Phelan
	Arévalo Hefner Phillips
	Ashby Hernandez Pickett
	Bailes Herrero Price
	Bell Hinojosa Raney
	Bernal Holland Raymond
	Biedermann Howard Reynolds
	Blanco Huberty Rinaldi
	Bohac Hunter Roberts
	Bonnen of Brazoria Isaac Rodriguez of Bexar
	Bonnen of Galveston Israel Rodriguez of Travis
	Burkett Johnson of Dallas Romero, Jr.
	Burns Johnson of Harris Rose
	Burrows Kacal Sanford
	Button Keough Schaefer
	Cain King of Hemphill Schofield
	Canales King of Parker Schubert
	Capriglione King of Uvalde Shaheen
	Clardy Klick Sheffield
	Coleman Koop Shine
	Collier Krause Simmons
	Cook Kuempel Smithee
	Cortez Lambert Springer
	Cosper Landgraf Stephenson
	Craddick Lang Stickland
	Cyrier Larson Stucky
	Dale Laubenberg Swanson
	Darby Leach Thierry
	Davis of Dallas Longoria Thompson of Brazoria
	Davis of Harris Lozano Thompson of Harris
	Dean Lucio III Tinderholt
	Deshotel Martinez Turner
	Dukes Metcalf Uresti
	Dutton Meyer VanDeaver
	Elkins Miller Villalba
	Faircloth Minjarez Vo
	Fallon Moody Walle
	Farrar Morrison White
	Flynn Muñoz, Jr. Wilson
	Frank Murphy Workman
	Frullo Murr Wray
	Geren Neave Wu
	Gervin-Hawkins Nevárez Zedler
	Giddings Oliveira Zerwas
	______________________________
	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.R. No. 1469 was adopted by the House on April
	18, 2017, by a non-record vote.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House