82R20138 JNC-D
By: Aliseda H.C.R. No. 128
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Words cannot adequately express the sorrow felt at
the loss of U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Jose Luis Saenz III of
Pleasanton, who died in Afghanistan on August 9, 2010, at the age of
30; and
WHEREAS, Assigned to 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st
Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp
Pendleton, California, Sergeant Saenz was killed in Helmand
Province by an explosive device while on patrol; and
WHEREAS, Born in San Antonio in 1980 to Leonor Mata Saenz and
Jose Luis Saenz, Jr., Joey Saenz grew up in Pleasanton, where he was
a member of the varsity football team and the band at Pleasanton
High School; after graduating in 1999, he worked as a mechanic at
Walmart, where he met his future wife, Christy; he was a member of
St. Matthew's Catholic Church in Jourdanton; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Saenz joined the Marine Corps in 2003 and
received his basic training in San Diego; after completing
automotive mechanics training at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, he
was stationed with the 9th Engineer Support Battalion in Okinawa,
Japan; in 2005, he was assigned to Marine Corps Combat Service
Support Schools at Camp Johnson, North Carolina, where he worked as
a motor transport mechanic and performed HAZMAT duties and funeral
details; he was assigned the 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment in
2007; and
WHEREAS, The following year, he deployed with India Battery
and participated in various exercises in the Persian Gulf with the
15th Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard USS Peleliu; he deployed to
Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in May 2010,
and at the time of his death he was conducting daily operations as a
squad leader; and
WHEREAS, In recognition of his sacrifice, Sergeant Saenz was
posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Navy and Marine Corps
Commendation Medal with the Combat Distinguishing Device; he had
also earned the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with two
gold stars, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Marine Corps Good Conduct
Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign
Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global
War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Sea Service Deployment
Ribbon; moreover, the members of his regiment in Afghanistan named
their artillery position Firebase Saenz in his honor; and
WHEREAS, Our state and nation are fortunate to have men and
women whose love of country inspires them to serve, yet the tragic
death of this brave man is a sobering reminder of the cost of war;
Sergeant Jose Saenz embodied the highest ideals of the U.S. armed
forces, and those who knew him and loved him will forever carry him
close in their hearts; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby pay tribute to the life of U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Jose
Luis Saenz III and extend sincere sympathy to the members of his
family: to his wife, Christy Heritage-Saenz; to his son, Jose Luis
Saenz IV; to his parents, Leonor Mata Saenz and Jose Luis Saenz,
Jr.; to his sisters, Bettina Saenz-Salas and her husband, Alex,
Melissa Saenz and Shad Crow, and Patricia Saenz and Luis Ramos III;
to his grandparents, Jose Luis Saenz, Sr., Evangelina Saenz, and
Celia P. Mata; to his nieces and nephews, Brianna Salas, Ignacio
Salas, Luis Ramos IV, and Leigh Ramos; to his in-laws, Paula
Heritage, Elogio Heritage, Lisa McLin and her husband, Matthew,
Sandra Callejas and her husband, Jeffrey, and Elogio Heritage, Jr.,
and his wife, Ruby; and to his other relatives and friends; and, be
it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of
Representatives and Senate adjourn this day, they do so in memory of
Jose Luis Saenz III.