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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Felix Longoria Jr. is celebrating his 96th birthday |
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on May 24, 2017, to the delight of his family and friends; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Skidmore in 1921, Felix Longoria is a |
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descendant of Juan Miguel Longoria Jr., a mid-19th-century resident |
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of Blue Town who became the first in the Rio Grande Valley to set up |
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a system to irrigate his land with river water; he enlisted in the |
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United States Army in 1939, and after completing basic training at |
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Fort Sam Houston, he received ski combat training in Wisconsin; |
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deployed to England as a 23-year-old sergeant, he led a platoon in |
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the Invasion of Normandy on D-day and fought on Omaha Beach; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Longoria was struck by machine gun fire in |
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Brest, France, and was confined to an English hospital for six |
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weeks; after being awarded the Purple Heart, he learned that his |
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mother had fainted at the news; he returned to the front and |
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received several shrapnel wounds during the Battle of the Bulge, |
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but he told the medics not to fill out any Purple Heart paperwork |
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for fear his mother would be further distressed; later, he was |
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injured in hand-to-hand combat during the liberation of a |
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concentration camp, and although he again averted a Purple Heart, |
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he earned a Bronze Star for shooting a German soldier in order to |
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protect his men; he attained the rank of first sergeant before his |
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honorable discharge in 1948; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Longoria settled in Corpus Christi after the war |
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and worked as a civilian aviation metalsmith at the Naval Air |
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Station until his retirement; devoted to his family, he is the proud |
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father of two children, and he shared a fulfilling relationship of |
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59 years with his wife, Theodosa Longoria, before her passing in |
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2004; he lives independently and enjoys meeting friends weekly at |
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Lindale Community Center and playing dominoes nearly every Friday |
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night; and |
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WHEREAS, An admired member of the Greatest Generation, |
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Mr. Longoria is an inspiration to many, and he continues to enrich |
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the lives of all who are fortunate enough to know him; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate Felix Longoria Jr. on the occasion |
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of his 96th birthday and extend to him sincere best wishes for |
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continued happiness; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Mr. Longoria as an expression of high regard by the |
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Texas House of Representatives. |
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Hunter |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 2572 was adopted by the House on May |
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28, 2017, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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