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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The courageous service of U.S. Army Captain Henry T. |
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Waskow of Belton during World War II has inspired his fellow |
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Americans for nearly 80 years; and |
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WHEREAS, In January 1944, The Washington Daily News ran a |
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profoundly moving dispatch by legendary World War II correspondent |
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Ernie Pyle on its front page; the story related the tragic death of |
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Captain Waskow, who led B Company of the 1st Battalion, 143rd |
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Infantry Regiment, and had earned the tremendous respect, loyalty, |
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and affection of the men under his command before being killed in |
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action; and |
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WHEREAS, Captain Waskow first experienced combat during the |
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landings in Salerno, Italy, in September 1943; subsequently, his |
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company fought in the mountains of southern Italy, enduring |
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miserable, freezing conditions; he impressed his men with his |
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efficiency and his calm demeanor, even under artillery and machine |
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gun fire; on December 14, during the ferocious battle for San |
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Pietro, he was leading his men from a tree line to attack a German |
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position when he heard an incoming artillery shell; he shoved his |
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radio operator, crying "Hit the ground!," but he was cut down |
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himself by a piece of shrapnel; and |
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WHEREAS, When it was at last possible for the radio operator |
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to bring Captain Waskow's body back down the mountain three days |
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later, Mr. Pyle witnessed the final farewells of the captain's |
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grief-stricken men and wrote, "In this war I have known a lot of |
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officers who were loved and respected by the soldiers under them. |
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But never have I crossed the trail of any man as beloved as Captain |
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Henry T. Waskow of Belton, Texas"; the heartbreaking account, |
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syndicated by the Scripps-Howard news service and read over the |
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radio, resonated powerfully with the American public as an |
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illustration of humble nobility and the strong bonds of camaraderie |
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forged in wartime; and |
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WHEREAS, Henry T. Waskow was born in DeWitt County on |
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September 24, 1918, to Frank and Mary Waskow, first-generation |
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Americans of German descent; he grew up on a farm in Bell County |
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with seven siblings; quiet, serious, dutiful, and industrious, he |
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graduated as president of his class at Belton High School and |
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attended Temple Junior College before working his way through |
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Trinity University as a campus janitor; he enlisted in the Texas |
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National Guard while preparing for a career in teaching, and after |
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he was called to active duty, he rose quickly through the ranks; in |
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January 1943, he was promoted to captain, and his division was |
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deployed to Algeria that April; and |
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WHEREAS, Captain Waskow's grave near Nettuno, Italy, has been |
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visited by countless people, and he is not forgotten at home; VFW |
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Post No. 4008 in Belton and the Belton New Tech High School @Waskow |
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are named in his honor; and |
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WHEREAS, Exemplifying the highest ideals of the U.S. armed |
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forces, Captain Henry T. Waskow has long been revered as a moving |
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example of the heroism demonstrated by American service members as |
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well as the sacrifices made in defense of our nation, and it is |
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indeed fitting to further honor his memory by commemorating the |
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anniversary of his birth; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 88th Texas Legislature |
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hereby recognize September 24, 2023, as Captain Henry T. Waskow |
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Day. |