H.C.R. No. 3

	HOUSE 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 Audie Murphy, the most highly
	decorated American soldier of World War II, would be a fitting
	recipient of this prestigious award; and
	WHEREAS, Born in Kingston, Hunt County, on June 20, 1925,
	Audie Leon Murphy was one of 12 children; he received several years
	of formal education before leaving school to help support his
	family; in addition to working a variety of jobs, he hunted small
	game for food and became a crack shot; and
	WHEREAS, Audie Murphy tried to enlist in the armed forces
	after the attack on Pearl Harbor but was rejected because he was
	underage; later, when he claimed to be a year older than he actually
	was, the marines and paratroopers turned him down on the grounds
	that he was too short and thin; finally, in June 1942, still
	misrepresenting his date of birth, he managed to join the army
	infantry; determined to become a combat soldier, he successfully
	resisted the effort of his company commander to have him
	transferred to a cook and bakers school; and
	WHEREAS, In early 1943, Private Murphy shipped overseas to
	Morocco as a replacement in Company B, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry
	Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division; while stationed in North Africa,
	he participated in extensive training maneuvers; he saw his first
	combat in July 1943, when the 3rd Division invaded Sicily, and he
	subsequently took part in the landing at Salerno, the Volturno
	River Campaign, the landing at Anzio, and the march on Rome; during
	those months in Italy, Audie Murphy demonstrated both exceptional
	skill as a marksman and a sound grasp of small-unit tactics; his
	proficiency as a soldier earned him repeated promotions and several
	decorations for valor; and
	WHEREAS, On the morning of August 15, 1944, Staff Sergeant
	Murphy landed with the 3rd Division in southern France; that same
	day, he earned the Distinguished Service Cross, this nation's
	second-highest award for heroism, for his actions in
	single-handedly destroying a German machine gun crew and several
	other enemy positions, feats that made possible the capture of a
	fiercely contested hill; the following October 2 and October 5, he
	earned Silver Stars for further heroic action; and
	WHEREAS, That fall, Audie Murphy received a battlefield
	commission as a second lieutenant; soon afterward, he sustained a
	wound that removed him from action for the next 10 weeks; though not
	completely healed, he returned to his unit early the next year, and
	on January 25, 1945, he became company commander; and
	WHEREAS, At that time, Lieutenant Murphy's men were engaged
	in the effort to clear German soldiers from an area in eastern
	France known as the Colmar Pocket; on January 26, in bitter cold and
	with several feet of snow covering the ground, Company B came under
	attack by six German tanks and 250 German infantrymen; Lieutenant
	Murphy ordered his troops, whose effective strength had been
	reduced by about 40 percent, to fall back; he remained forward and
	continued to direct Allied artillery fire by telephone; when the
	German tanks drew abreast of his position, he mounted a burning tank
	destroyer and, though exposed to fire on three sides, employed its
	machine gun against the enemy, causing the German infantry to waver
	and the tanks to fall back; he continued to hold his ground in the
	firefight for an hour, wiping out a German squad that had reached
	within 10 yards of his position; when his ammunition was exhausted,
	he made his way back to his company, refused medical treatment for a
	leg wound, and led his men in a successful counterattack, enabling
	his unit to save the woods that had been the Germans' objective;
	Lieutenant Murphy was credited with personally killing or wounding
	about 50 enemy combatants in that encounter, and his exceptional
	bravery earned him the Medal of Honor; and
	WHEREAS, The following month, Audie Murphy was withdrawn from
	the front lines, promoted to first lieutenant, and made a liaison
	officer; he returned to the States in mid-June 1945, having earned
	28 medals, including several from France and Belgium; he was not yet
	21; and
	WHEREAS, Lieutenant Murphy received his discharge from the
	army in September 1945; he joined the Texas National Guard in 1950,
	after the outbreak of the Korean War, and eventually attained the
	rank of major; assigned to inactive status in 1957, he transferred
	to the United States Army Reserve in 1966 and continued as a member
	of the reserve until his death in 1971; and
	WHEREAS, Though his extraordinary record in the war brought
	him widespread fame, Audie Murphy remained profoundly humble,
	highlighting his comrades' courage, rather than his own, in his
	autobiography and requesting a plain government headstone for his
	grave, instead of one adorned with the gold gilt that typically
	signifies a Medal of Honor recipient; and
	WHEREAS, Audie Murphy repeatedly risked his life to save the
	lives of his fellow soldiers and to help advance their mission, and
	for his remarkable heroism he is most assuredly deserving of this
	state's supreme military award; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas,
	2nd Called Session, hereby direct the governor of the State of Texas
	to award the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor posthumously to Audie
	Murphy in recognition of his valiant actions in World War II.
	Turner of Collin Flynn
	Anderson Lavender
	Miller of Fort Bend Allen
	Ashby Bell
	Bonnen of Galveston Branch
	Burkett Callegari
	Capriglione Carter
	Cook Cortez
	Creighton Darby
	S. Davis of Harris Frank
	Frullo Goldman
	Gonzales N. Gonzalez of El Paso
	Guillen Howard
	Hughes Isaac
	Kacal Klick
	Krause Kuempel
	Larson Laubenberg
	Leach Miles
	Moody Munoz, Jr.
	Otto Price
	Raney Ratliff
	Raymond Rodriguez of Travis
	Sanford Sheffield of Coryell
	Sheffield of Bell Simmons
	Smith Springer
	Stephenson Stickland
	Taylor Thompson of Brazoria
	Turner of Tarrant Turner of Harris
	Villalba Vo
	White Zedler
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.C.R. No. 3 was adopted by the House on July
	18, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 135, Nays 0, 1 present, not
	voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.C.R. No. 3 was adopted by the Senate on July
	25, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 28, Nays 0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED: __________________
	Date
	__________________
	Governor