H.R. No. 2572
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Felix Longoria Jr. is celebrating his 96th birthday
on May 24, 2017, to the delight of his family and friends; and
WHEREAS, Born in Skidmore in 1921, Felix Longoria is a
descendant of Juan Miguel Longoria Jr., a mid-19th-century resident
of Blue Town who became the first in the Rio Grande Valley to set up
a system to irrigate his land with river water; he enlisted in the
United States Army in 1939, and after completing basic training at
Fort Sam Houston, he received ski combat training in Wisconsin;
deployed to England as a 23-year-old sergeant, he led a platoon in
the Invasion of Normandy on D-day and fought on Omaha Beach; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Longoria was struck by machine gun fire in
Brest, France, and was confined to an English hospital for six
weeks; after being awarded the Purple Heart, he learned that his
mother had fainted at the news; he returned to the front and
received several shrapnel wounds during the Battle of the Bulge,
but he told the medics not to fill out any Purple Heart paperwork
for fear his mother would be further distressed; later, he was
injured in hand-to-hand combat during the liberation of a
concentration camp, and although he again averted a Purple Heart,
he earned a Bronze Star for shooting a German soldier in order to
protect his men; he attained the rank of first sergeant before his
honorable discharge in 1948; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Longoria settled in Corpus Christi after the war
and worked as a civilian aviation metalsmith at the Naval Air
Station until his retirement; devoted to his family, he is the proud
father of two children, and he shared a fulfilling relationship of
59 years with his wife, Theodosa Longoria, before her passing in
2004; he lives independently and enjoys meeting friends weekly at
Lindale Community Center and playing dominoes nearly every Friday
night; and
WHEREAS, An admired member of the Greatest Generation,
Mr. Longoria is an inspiration to many, and he continues to enrich
the lives of all who are fortunate enough to know him; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas
Legislature hereby congratulate Felix Longoria Jr. on the occasion
of his 96th birthday and extend to him sincere best wishes for
continued happiness; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Mr. Longoria as an expression of high regard by the
Texas House of Representatives.
Hunter
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 2572 was adopted by the House on May
28, 2017, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House