H.R. No. 46
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, In an extraordinary display of bravery, former
U.S. Special Forces operative and aid worker David Eubank
confronted extreme danger in saving the life of a young girl in the
besieged Iraqi city of Mosul; and
WHEREAS, David Eubank is the founding director of the Free
Burma Rangers, a humanitarian organization that provides support to
oppressed ethnic minority groups; for the past two years, his team
has focused on mounting relief operations for civilians in Iraq and
Syria whose lives have been devastated by the Islamic State's
campaign of terror; and
WHEREAS, One evening in early June 2017, Mr. Eubank and his
volunteers were traveling alongside a brigade of Iraqi troops into
Mosul, which had become a battlefield during the Iraqi and
coalition-led effort to retake the city from the Islamic State; the
liberators found streets lined with the remains of those who had
attempted to flee and were shot by snipers; and
WHEREAS, While surveying this horrendous scene, Mr. Eubank
noticed that a young girl, approximately age five, was still alive;
as his American and Iraqi comrades threw smoke canisters and
provided covering fire, he braved the storm of sniper bullets
flying all around him and was able to reach the girl and carry her to
safety in the span of 12 harrowing seconds; and
WHEREAS, The exceptional fortitude that Mr. Eubank
demonstrated on that day comes as little surprise to those who know
this esteemed former soldier; the son of Christian missionaries and
an alumnus of Texas A&M University, he enlisted in the U.S. Army at
age 18 and advanced through the ranks to lead a military free fall
team with the 1st Special Forces Group; he went on to found the Free
Burma Rangers alongside his wife, Karen, in 1997; and
WHEREAS, By acting without hesitation to save the life of a
child in need, David Eubank exemplified the capacity of the human
spirit to transcend the most dire of circumstances, and the people
of the Lone Star State are proud to call this courageous and
selfless individual one of our own; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas
Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby honor David Eubank for his
valiant rescue of a young girl in Iraq and extend to him sincere
gratitude for his remarkable act of heroism; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Mr. Eubank as an expression of high regard by the Texas
House of Representatives.
Wray
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 46 was adopted by the House on August
15, 2017, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House