84R12348 RMA-D
By: Peña, et al. H.C.R. No. 80
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The famed Battleship Texas, which sits moored at the
San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site under the care of the
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, is a national treasure that
played a prominent role in American successes in both World War I
and World War II; and
WHEREAS, The "Mighty T" was considered to be one of the most
powerful weapons in the world when it was commissioned on March 12,
1914; the ship saw action off the North African coast near Morocco,
at Normandy on D-Day, and at Iwo Jima and Okinawa in the Pacific
Theater before being decommissioned on April 21, 1948; suffering
only one combat casualty in its many campaigns, the Texas earned the
nickname the "Lucky Ship"; and
WHEREAS, The Battleship Texas was a harbinger of America's
rise as an industrialized nation on the verge of becoming a world
power; in 1916, it became the first U.S. battleship to mount
antiaircraft guns as well as the first to employ directors and
range-keepers to control gunfire; other firsts followed, as the
Texas became the first U.S. battleship to launch an airplane, in
1919, and the first navy ship to be fitted for commercial radar, in
1939; and
WHEREAS, A National Historic Landmark and the flagship of the
Texas Navy, the Battleship Texas is a living memorial to the brave
men who served aboard it over the course of more than three decades;
even in repose, it continues to play an important role in the lives
of Texans and other Americans, and it is crucial that we preserve
this vital link to our nation's past; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to
provide federal funding for repairs to the Battleship Texas; and,
be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the president of the Senate and speaker of the House of
Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all members
of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this
resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to
the Congress of the United States of America.