| 1 | 1 | | 86R20016 JGH-D |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | By: Wray H.C.R. No. 164 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor was established |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | to recognize gallant and intrepid service by a member of the state |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | or federal military forces, and U.S. Marine Corps First Lieutenant |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | Andrew Jackson Lummus Jr., who was killed in action in the Battle of |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | Iwo Jima during World War II, proved himself a deserving recipient |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | of this prestigious award; and |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | WHEREAS, Jack Lummus was born in Ennis on October 22, 1915, |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | and he grew up on his family's cotton farm during the Great |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | Depression; a gifted athlete, he earned scholarships to Texas |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | Military College and to Baylor University, where he played baseball |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | and football for the Bears; in early 1941, he left college to enlist |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | in the U.S. Army Air Corps but was given an honorable discharge when |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | he failed to complete flight school; he then accepted an offer to |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | play professional football with the New York Giants, and it was |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | during the team's game on December 7, 1941, that he learned of the |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | attack on Pearl Harbor; determined to serve his country, he |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, and after a series of training |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | and duty assignments in the United States, he was deployed to the |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | Pacific theater as an officer in the 2nd Battalion, 27th Marines, |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | 5th Marine Division; and |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | WHEREAS, Lieutenant Lummus led his rifle platoon ashore at |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | Iwo Jima as part of the initial contingent of marine forces to land |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | on the island; on March 8, 1945, his unit advanced against a line of |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | Japanese pillboxes along the island's rugged Nishi Ridge; moving |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | ahead of his men under fierce enemy fire, he destroyed one pillbox |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | with grenades even as he was wounded and knocked off his feet by a |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | blast from an enemy grenade; undaunted, he eliminated a second |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | pillbox and returned to his platoon before attacking and knocking |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | out a third pillbox; he urged his fellow marines forward while |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | continuing to fire into enemy foxholes with his carbine; and |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | WHEREAS, This courageous Texan's one-man assault was ended |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | when he stepped on a land mine; though he lost both of his legs in |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | the explosion, he continued to shout to his men, "Don't stop now! |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | Keep going!" and by nightfall, his unit had taken the ridge; |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | Lieutenant Lummus died on the operating table in a field hospital |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | and was buried in the Fifth Marine Division cemetery on the island; |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | and |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | WHEREAS, On May 30, 1946, First Lieutenant Jack Lummus was |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | posthumously honored with the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | commendation for valor in combat, by President Harry S. Truman, and |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | two years later, he was reinterred in his hometown cemetery; in the |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | decades since, his heroism has been recognized many times; in 1986, |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | the U.S. Navy named a ship after him, and that same year, Jack |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | Lummus Memorial Park was dedicated in Ennis, where there is also an |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | intermediate school that bears his name; his Medal of Honor |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | citation is on display at Baylor University, and on October 11, |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | 2015, the New York Giants inducted him into the Ring of Honor at |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | MetLife Stadium; and |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | WHEREAS, During one of the most savage battles of World War |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | II, First Lieutenant Jack Lummus demonstrated extraordinary |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | bravery and leadership and made the ultimate sacrifice while |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | defending our nation, and he is indeed deserving of this state's |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | supreme military commendation; now, therefore, be it |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | hereby direct the governor of the State of Texas to posthumously |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | award the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor to Andrew Jackson Lummus |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | Jr. in recognition of his valiant service during World War II. |
|---|