HLS 23RS-3058 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 130
BY REPRESENTATIVE COUSSAN AND SENATORS B OUDREAUX AND CORTEZ
COMMENDATIONS: Commends Dr. Walter Benoit Comeaux, Jr., on the occasion of his
one hundredth birthday
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To commend Dr. Walter Benoit Comeaux, Jr., on the occasion of his one hundredth
3 birthday.
4 WHEREAS, Dr. Comeaux was born in Houma, Louisiana, on April 10, 1923; as a
5boy, he spent his summers south of Houma drying shrimp and later worked in a lumberyard
6that specialized in drilling mud and heavy timber; although his early work experience
7consisted of blue collar jobs, he inherited his dentist father's scientific curiosity and
8possessed a natural inclination to study medicine; and
9 WHEREAS, Dr. Comeaux attended Louisiana State University on a band scholarship
10and joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC); upon completing his
11undergraduate studies and four years of ROTC, he was made a private in the Army infantry
12and assigned to the LSU Medical School in New Orleans; he graduated from medical school
13on March 13, 1946, received surgical training through an internship program, and completed
14a three-month course required for all medical officers; and
15 WHEREAS, after completing his medical education and training, Dr. Comeaux was
16assigned to the South-East Asian Theater of World War II at the 49th General Hospital in
17Tokyo, the only general hospital in Japan; he served the entirety of his overseas duty at this
18hospital, which handled all serious cases from Japan, China, Korea, and Guam, while having
19only three general surgeons and fifteen fellow medical officers to assist him; the relatively
20small team of dedicated doctors took on unimaginable challenges with honor and
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HCR NO. 130
1accomplished incredible feats, such as completing nine thousand six hundred thirty-one
2operative procedures in a single year; and
3 WHEREAS, while serving in Japan, Dr. Comeaux met Dorinne Kennedy, a
4Canadian-born civilian-worker for the United States Air Force Intelligence Department, and
5the two were married in the chapel of the 49th General Hospital in February 1949; and
6 WHEREAS, Dr. Comeaux was honorably discharged in 1949 and returned to the
7United States to live in New Orleans, where he worked as an admitting physician at Charity
8Hospital for thirteen months before taking a residency in general and thoracic surgery; and
9 WHEREAS, after completing his residency and passing the American Board of
10Surgery exams, Dr. Comeaux and his wife moved to Lafayette, Louisiana, where he
11established himself as a renowned general surgeon and pillar of the community who touched
12the lives of thousands of patients during his nearly sixty years of practice; he served on
13numerous philanthropic and foundation boards, including the Louisiana State University and
14University of Louisiana at Lafayette Foundation boards, and he remains an avid supporter
15of the Southwest Louisiana Mardi Gras Association and the Krewe of Gabriel over which
16he reigned as King Gabriel XXXV in 1974; and
17 WHEREAS, Dr. Comeaux is an avid outdoorsman and nature conservationist who
18cherished fishing and duck hunting throughout his life; he even had the opportunity to hunt
19big game on multiple continents; and
20 WHEREAS, despite dedicating himself to the study and practice of medicine, Dr.
21Comeaux has been fascinated by aviation since his youth visiting the Houma hangar to listen
22to the conversations of traveling barnstormers; he rediscovered his passion for aviation in
23the early 1960s, and by 1968, he completed his first solo flight to earn a pilot's license; and
24 WHEREAS, Dr. Comeaux worked as the senior Aviation Medical Examiner and
25flight surgeon for Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. (PHI), he became involved with Helicopter
26Association International (HAI), then-named the Helicopter Association of America, through
27his work with PHI; and
28 WHEREAS, Dr. Comeaux continued his service with HAI as a critically important
29member and chair of the safety committee from 1978 until 1985; he was an instrumental
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HCR NO. 130
1force in the development of the first edition of the HAI Safety Manual; he also served as a
2special advisor to the HAI board of directors from 1985 until 1998; and
3 WHEREAS, while serving HAI, Dr. Comeaux received numerous awards including
4the Joe Mashman Safety Award, the Lawrence D. Bell Memorial Award, and the Igor I.
5Sikorsky Award for Humanitarian Service; and
6 WHEREAS, Dr. Walter Benoit Comeaux, Jr., is a truly incredible individual who
7dedicated his professional life to the protection of others; he honorably served his country
8overseas and saw to the treatment of countless individuals while working in Tokyo, and he
9continued saving lives not only by serving as a surgeon in hospitals and on flights, but also
10by improving safety practices throughout the rotorcraft industry; he is most deserving of the
11highest recognition on the occasion of his one hundredth birthday.
12 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
13commend Dr. Walter Benoit Comeaux, Jr., on the occasion of his one hundredth birthday;
14does hereby further recognize Dr. Comeaux for his valiant military service, dedication to the
15practice of medicine, and efforts to improve rotorcraft safety; and does hereby extend
16sincerest wishes that he continue to prosper and enjoy good health, for he is one of
17Louisiana's most cherished sons.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 130 Original 2023 Regular Session Coussan
Commends Dr. Walter Benoit Comeaux, Jr., on the occasion of his 100th birthday.
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