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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, William A. Mitchell, a retired colonel in the U.S. |
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| 6 | 7 | | Air Force and a professor emeritus at Baylor University, has long |
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| 7 | 8 | | devoted his talents and energies to work with a higher purpose; and |
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| 8 | 9 | | WHEREAS, Determined as a teenager to enlist in the military, |
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| 9 | 10 | | even though he was underage at the time, Bill Mitchell fabricated a |
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| 10 | 11 | | new birth certificate for himself and joined the 36th Infantry |
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| 11 | 12 | | Division of the Texas National Guard in Clifton; as soon as he |
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| 12 | 13 | | completed the six months' training required to go on active duty, he |
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| 13 | 14 | | enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served at Lackland and Travis Air |
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| 14 | 15 | | Force Bases before being stationed overseas at Wheelus Air Base in |
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| 15 | 16 | | Tripoli, Libya; and |
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| 16 | 17 | | WHEREAS, Reassigned to Turkey in 1959, Dr. Mitchell later |
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| 17 | 18 | | completed a tour of duty in Vietnam, where he served as a civic |
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| 18 | 19 | | actions officer and flew missions in support of the army's Project |
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| 19 | 20 | | CHECO, analyzing and reporting on enemy attacks on Mekong River |
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| 20 | 21 | | convoys; during subsequent assignments in Turkey, he commanded the |
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| 21 | 22 | | Incirlik Air Base and the 724th Air Base Group at Izmir during the |
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| 22 | 23 | | Gulf War; and |
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| 23 | 24 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Mitchell retired from the air force at the rank |
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| 24 | 25 | | of colonel, following a career that took him to 30 countries over a |
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| 25 | 26 | | span of 34 years; he is the recipient of numerous military awards, |
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| 26 | 27 | | including the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star |
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| 27 | 28 | | Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal; and |
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| 28 | 29 | | WHEREAS, This esteemed Texan holds a bachelor's degree from |
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| 29 | 30 | | East Texas State University, a master's degree from the University |
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| 30 | 31 | | of California, Los Angeles, and a doctorate from the University of |
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| 31 | 32 | | Illinois; he has taught at the Air Force Academy and the Air War |
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| 32 | 33 | | College, and following his return to civilian life, he served for 20 |
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| 33 | 34 | | years on the faculty at Baylor University, where he held the Jo |
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| 34 | 35 | | Murphy Chair in International Education; during his tenure at |
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| 35 | 36 | | Baylor, he established a study abroad program in Turkey and helped |
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| 36 | 37 | | to create the Center for Democracy at the University of Dohuk in |
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| 37 | 38 | | Iraq; a political scientist who works in the area of international |
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| 38 | 39 | | affairs, Dr. Mitchell has focused much of his research on Turkey, |
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| 39 | 40 | | where he lived for 10 years, and has more recently studied the |
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| 40 | 41 | | impact of colonialism in Francophone West Africa; he has published |
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| 41 | 42 | | widely on such topics as water management and disaster mitigation, |
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| 42 | 43 | | and he is currently at work on his third book; and |
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| 43 | 44 | | WHEREAS, Throughout his career, Bill Mitchell has been |
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| 44 | 45 | | blessed with the love and support of his wife, the former Joan |
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| 45 | 46 | | Woodill; and |
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| 46 | 47 | | WHEREAS, Having made significant contributions in the course |
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| 47 | 48 | | of both his military and academic careers, William Mitchell remains |
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| 48 | 49 | | engaged in efforts to advance the causes of intercultural |
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| 49 | 50 | | understanding, democracy, and the well-being of peoples around the |
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| 50 | 51 | | world; now, therefore, be it |
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| 51 | 52 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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| 52 | 53 | | Legislature hereby honor Dr. William A. Mitchell for his exemplary |
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| 53 | 54 | | service in behalf of his country and its highest values and extend |
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| 54 | 55 | | to him sincere best wishes for continued success in all his |
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| 55 | 56 | | endeavors; and, be it further |
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| 56 | 57 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 57 | 58 | | prepared for Dr. Mitchell as an expression of high regard by the |
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| 58 | 59 | | Texas House of Representatives. |
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