H.R. No. 1924
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The life and sacrifice of U.S. Navy Lieutenant Wilma
Ledbetter, who died in the line of duty during the Korean War, were
honored at a ceremony at First United Methodist Church in
Chillicothe on March 14, 2015; and
WHEREAS, Born in Chillicothe on April 27, 1912, Wilma
Ledbetter attended Texas State College for Women and Central State
Teachers College in Edmond, Oklahoma, before changing her career
goal from teaching to nursing; she subsequently trained at the
Northwest Texas Hospital School of Nursing in Amarillo from 1936 to
1939; after working for a year as a nurse at the hospital, she
joined the staff at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, and during the
next two years she also continued her education at Louisiana State
University; she returned to Texas in 1942 and worked at
Brackenridge Hospital in Austin; and
WHEREAS, Answering her nation's call to duty during World War
II, Wilma Ledbetter joined the Navy Nurse Corps in July 1943, and
she served at naval hospitals in San Diego, Hawaii, and New Orleans
before being released from active duty in May 1946; the following
year, she returned to duty as a member of the Navy Reserve Nurse
Corps and was posted to Houston and then Nevada; in 1948, she was
commissioned a lieutenant in the Nurse Corps; she worked for a time
in Philadelphia, and when the Korean War broke out, she rejoined the
active Navy Nurse Corps; and
WHEREAS, On August 25, 1950, Lieutenant Ledbetter was serving
on the USS Benevolence, a naval hospital ship, when it was
accidentally rammed by a freighter in San Francisco Bay; the
Benevolence keeled over on its side and sank within 45 minutes;
plunged into the cold water of the bay, Lieutenant Ledbetter tried
to help her fellow crew members; she was the last nurse to be pulled
from the water, and the prolonged exposure tragically proved too
great; she succumbed to hypothermia, becoming one of 23 people from
the Benevolence to lose their lives; and
WHEREAS, Sixty-five years later, Lieutenant Ledbetter's
naval service was recognized in a solemn ceremony in her hometown,
sponsored by the Western Trail and Austin Colony Chapters of the
National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution;
Lieutenant Ledbetter's sister, Emily Ledbetter Shoemaker, and
other members of her family were presented with the lieutenant's
posthumous decorations, including the World War II Victory Medal,
the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Medal, and the
Gold Star Pin; and
WHEREAS, Lieutenant Wilma Ledbetter dedicated her life to the
care of this nation's military personnel, and she kept faith with
that commitment until her very last moments; for her selfless
efforts and immeasurable sacrifice, Americans owe this outstanding
officer a debt that the passage of time can never diminish; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life and service of U.S. Navy
Lieutenant Wilma Ledbetter.
Springer
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 1924 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the House on May 7, 2015.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House