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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, Family and friends continue to treasure their |
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| 6 | 7 | | memories of Willie V Jordan of Newport, who endured enormous |
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| 7 | 8 | | hardship in the service of this nation during World War II; and |
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| 8 | 9 | | WHEREAS, Bill Jordan was born into a family of sharecroppers |
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| 9 | 10 | | near Newport on February 10, 1922; at age 16, he went to work with |
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| 10 | 11 | | the Civilian Conservation Corps, and in 1940, when his parents |
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| 11 | 12 | | refused him permission to join the U.S. Navy, he enlisted in the |
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| 12 | 13 | | Texas National Guard instead; his unit was mobilized in the months |
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| 13 | 14 | | before Pearl Harbor, and Mr. Jordan shipped out in November 1941 |
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| 14 | 15 | | with the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, 36th Division, of |
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| 15 | 16 | | the U.S. Army; and |
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| 16 | 17 | | WHEREAS, Originally destined for the Philippines, the unit |
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| 17 | 18 | | was rerouted to Australia and then to Java, where its mission was to |
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| 18 | 19 | | help defend the island against invasion; soon after, however, the |
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| 19 | 20 | | Japanese launched an overwhelming assault, and the Allied troops on |
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| 20 | 21 | | Java were forced to surrender on March 8, 1942; Mr. Jordan and his |
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| 21 | 22 | | comrades then began a 42-month ordeal, during which they were |
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| 22 | 23 | | forced by their captors to build what came to be known as the Death |
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| 23 | 24 | | Railway in the jungles of Burma; and |
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| 24 | 25 | | WHEREAS, Enduring the ravages of starvation, torture, and |
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| 25 | 26 | | disease, Mr. Jordan and the other prisoners cleared jungle and |
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| 26 | 27 | | carried baskets of rocks weighing as much as 100 pounds in |
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| 27 | 28 | | torrential rain and withering heat; despite receiving injuries and |
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| 28 | 29 | | suffering from malaria, beriberi, and dysentery, this tough young |
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| 29 | 30 | | Texan continued to work, helping his fellow prisoners when he |
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| 30 | 31 | | could; because he himself was able to work barefoot, he gave his |
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| 31 | 32 | | shoes to another prisoner, who credited them with saving his life; |
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| 32 | 33 | | and |
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| 33 | 34 | | WHEREAS, No word of the men's plight reached the outside |
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| 34 | 35 | | world until September 1944, so that the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field |
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| 35 | 36 | | Artillery, came to be known as the "Lost Battalion," and it was only |
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| 36 | 37 | | after the end of the war in the Pacific, in August 1945, that loved |
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| 37 | 38 | | ones learned the fate of individual members of the unit; according |
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| 38 | 39 | | to one account, of the 668 men from the battalion who went into the |
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| 39 | 40 | | jungle, 163 died in POW camps, 133 of them while working on the |
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| 40 | 41 | | railroad; when Mr. Jordan returned to the States, he carried less |
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| 41 | 42 | | than 90 pounds on his six-foot frame; and |
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| 42 | 43 | | WHEREAS, Bill Jordan continued to serve in the military, at |
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| 43 | 44 | | bases from Maine to Alaska, for the next 15 years; he retired from |
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| 44 | 45 | | the U.S. Air Force in 1960 and subsequently worked as a construction |
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| 45 | 46 | | engineer for the City of Fort Worth until his retirement from that |
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| 46 | 47 | | post in 1985; and |
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| 47 | 48 | | WHEREAS, Mr. Jordan was joined in matrimony to Florence |
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| 48 | 49 | | Kistler, also of Newport, following his return from the war, and the |
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| 49 | 50 | | couple raised three children; he died on October 16, 1992, and was |
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| 50 | 51 | | laid to rest in Newport Cemetery; and |
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| 51 | 52 | | WHEREAS, Rarely speaking of his ordeal and harboring no ill |
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| 52 | 53 | | will toward his captors, Bill Jordan credited his survival to his |
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| 53 | 54 | | faith in God, in his country, and in his comrades; he remained proud |
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| 54 | 55 | | of his service throughout his life, as he devoted himself to making |
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| 55 | 56 | | a better life for his family and to instilling in his children a |
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| 56 | 57 | | deep respect for the same values that made him a true American hero; |
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| 57 | 58 | | now, therefore, be it |
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| 58 | 59 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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| 59 | 60 | | Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Willie V Jordan and |
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| 60 | 61 | | extend gratitude to the members of his family for preserving the |
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| 61 | 62 | | memory of his courage, patriotism, and sacrifice. |
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