ENROLLED
2018 Second Extraordinary Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 33
BY REPRESENTATIVE REYNOLDS
A RESOLUTION
To commend Rodolphe Fabre on his one hundredth birthday and for his military service.
WHEREAS, attainment to the rank of centenarian is indeed rare, and on June 8,
2018, Rodolphe Fabre will join this exclusive club; and
WHEREAS, on June 8, 1918, Adolph and Olite Fabre welcomed their first child,
Rodolphe, to his hometown of Leroy, Louisiana; Rodolphe was big brother to four siblings
who followed; and
WHEREAS, Rodolphe's budding career as a farmer was cut short in June of 1940
when the cotton crop he cultivated was lost, so he elected to join the United States Army;
early duty assignments included Fort Benning as the battalion commander's driver, Military
Police duties at Camp Beauregard, and rifleman in a tank destroyer battalion at Fort Hood;
and
WHEREAS, Rodolphe was assigned to Europe in December 1944; his ocean transit
was aboard a British ship which landed in Marseilles, France, and from there he was
transported to Belgium; Rodolphe Fabre was one of the many valiant infantrymen of the
80th Division, 3rd Army, who fought in the Battle of the Bulge; and
WHEREAS, while working with his fellow soldiers to rebuild a pontoon bridge over
the Sauer River on April 24, 1945, a German 88 fighter plane strafed their position and
wounded Rodolphe in his ribs and legs; he was the only survivor and was evacuated to a
Luxembourg hospital; and
WHEREAS, by June of 1945, Rodolphe Fabre was honorably discharged; for his
military service, he received the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and the Good Conduct,
American Defense, American Theatre, and European Campaign medals; and
Page 1 of 2 HR NO. 33 ENROLLED
WHEREAS, upon his discharge, Rodolphe Fabre rejoined his wife Martha and their
first two children in Texas where Rodolphe found employment with Gulf Oil; in 1966, the
Fabre family moved to Maurice, Louisiana, and later to Milton, Louisiana, where Rodolphe
resumed farming; he retired from farming when he was eighty-three; and
WHEREAS, Rodolphe and Martha were married for sixty-two years, until her death
in 2004, and their marriage was blessed with five children, thirteen grandchildren, twenty-
two great-grandchildren, and five great-great-grandchildren; Rodolphe Fabre is a proud
member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, MacKenzie Chapter No. 504, the Greatest
Generation Diners Club, the Milton Civic Organization, and the St. Joseph Church ushers,
and this remarkable man is pleased to join the rarified set of proud Louisiana centenarians.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend and congratulate Rodolphe Fabre upon the
happy occasion of his one hundredth birthday; does hereby recognize and herald his
outstanding service to our country during his tour of duty in the United States Army; and
does hereby express best thoughts and prayers for continued good health and many more
birthdays to come.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to Rodolphe Fabre.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Page 2 of 2