| |
| |
|
|
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 it is fitting that Sergeant Ramon |
|
|
Garza Gutierrez be posthumously recognized with this commendation |
|
|
for his actions as a member of the U.S. Army during World War II; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, A native of Del Rio, Ramon Gutierrez enlisted in the |
|
|
U.S. Army in 1941 at the age of 18; he was assigned to Company E of |
|
|
the 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division, an all-Mexican |
|
|
American unit that was deployed to North Africa in April 1943 in |
|
|
preparation for the Allied invasion of Italy; in September of that |
|
|
year, Private Gutierrez and the other members of his unit helped |
|
|
lead the Allied landings on the beaches of Paestum at Salerno; the |
|
|
Company E soldiers faced heavy gunfire from German forces as they |
|
|
came ashore; with his squad pinned down, Private Gutierrez charged |
|
|
an enemy machine gun nest; he was wounded during his advance and |
|
|
lost his rifle, but he continued on, armed only with hand grenades |
|
|
and a knife; he succeeded in destroying the machine gun emplacement |
|
|
with a grenade, then leaped into the smoking foxhole to dispatch the |
|
|
last remaining German soldier in hand-to-hand combat; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Private Gutierrez was wounded a second time during |
|
|
the Battle of San Pietro in November 1943, and two months later, his |
|
|
regiment sustained mass casualties while crossing the Rapido River; |
|
|
Private Gutierrez was captured by German forces but soon managed to |
|
|
escape and swim back to the Allied side of the river, becoming one |
|
|
of only 27 members of Company E to return from the battle out of a |
|
|
total of 154; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In May 1944, this heroic soldier was promoted to the |
|
|
rank of sergeant, and during a battle at Velletri, he led an |
|
|
advanced squad that came under heavy fire from two German units; he |
|
|
was captured and tortured, and after days of captivity, the |
|
|
building where he was being held was hit by an Allied bomb or |
|
|
artillery fire; in the confusion that followed, he escaped through |
|
|
a hole in the wall and was hidden by Italian civilians until U.S. |
|
|
forces secured the area; after his release from a hospital, he |
|
|
reported to Washington, D.C., and on April 11, 1944, he was |
|
|
presented with the Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Degree, becoming |
|
|
one of only a small number of U.S. soldiers to be honored by the |
|
|
Soviet Union for their bravery on the battlefield; his actions were |
|
|
also recognized with numerous U.S. military commendations, |
|
|
including the Purple Heart with two clusters, two Silver Star |
|
|
Medals, and two Bronze Star Medals; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Gutierrez returned to Texas and resided for a |
|
|
time in Sonora; after he and the former Consuelo Sanchez exchanged |
|
|
the vows of marriage, they raised their family in Wichita Falls; he |
|
|
continued his military service as a member of the Texas State Guard |
|
|
Reserve, and in 1955, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant; in |
|
|
1993, he passed away in Wichita Falls at the age of 70; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Ramon Gutierrez distinguished himself through a |
|
|
series of extraordinary acts of courage on the battlefield, and it |
|
|
is indeed appropriate that he be posthumously honored with the |
|
|
highest military award conferred by the State of Texas; now, |
|
|
therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas |
|
|
hereby direct the governor of the State of Texas to posthumously |
|
|
award the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor to U.S. Army Sergeant |
|
|
Ramon Garza Gutierrez in recognition of his valiant service during |
|
|
World War II. |