| 2 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 3 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
|---|
| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, During the D-Day invasion of Normandy 75 years ago |
|---|
| 6 | 7 | | this June, Lieutenant Colonel James E. Rudder and the men of the |
|---|
| 7 | 8 | | U.S. Army 2nd Ranger Battalion displayed exceptional courage and |
|---|
| 8 | 9 | | fortitude in their assault on the German position at Pointe du Hoc; |
|---|
| 9 | 10 | | and |
|---|
| 10 | 11 | | WHEREAS, Regarded as one of the most dangerous enemy |
|---|
| 11 | 12 | | positions along the Normandy coast, Pointe du Hoc is a promontory |
|---|
| 12 | 13 | | with sheer 100-foot cliffs, and it was the site of six large German |
|---|
| 13 | 14 | | guns that posed a direct threat to the Allied troops coming ashore |
|---|
| 14 | 15 | | at Utah and Omaha beaches; capturing the position and silencing |
|---|
| 15 | 16 | | those guns was vital to the success of D-Day, and Allied Supreme |
|---|
| 16 | 17 | | Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower assigned this difficult |
|---|
| 17 | 18 | | mission to the 2nd Ranger Battalion under the leadership of |
|---|
| 18 | 19 | | Lieutenant Colonel Rudder, a native Texan and a graduate of the |
|---|
| 19 | 20 | | Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets; and |
|---|
| 20 | 21 | | WHEREAS, At 7:10 on the morning of June 6, 1944, Lieutenant |
|---|
| 21 | 22 | | Colonel Rudder and his Rangers jumped from their landing craft and |
|---|
| 22 | 23 | | waded through the surf to the foot of the cliffs; braving withering |
|---|
| 23 | 24 | | machine gun fire and hand grenade explosions, these valiant men |
|---|
| 24 | 25 | | shot rope ladders over the cliffs and began pulling themselves up; |
|---|
| 25 | 26 | | as one Ranger fell, another began to climb in his place, and by 9:30 |
|---|
| 26 | 27 | | a.m. the battalion had taken the promontory and destroyed the guns; |
|---|
| 27 | 28 | | they continued to hold the position in the face of fierce |
|---|
| 28 | 29 | | counterattacks until they were relieved on June 8; after two days of |
|---|
| 29 | 30 | | fighting, only 90 of the original 225 who came ashore could still |
|---|
| 30 | 31 | | bear arms; and |
|---|
| 31 | 32 | | WHEREAS, The heroes of this engagement were later |
|---|
| 32 | 33 | | immortalized by the historian Douglas Brinkley in his best-selling |
|---|
| 33 | 34 | | book The Boys of Pointe du Hoc, and their sacrifice was further |
|---|
| 34 | 35 | | recognized by the French, who erected a monument to the 2nd Ranger |
|---|
| 35 | 36 | | Battalion atop Pointe du Hoc; this striking memorial consists of a |
|---|
| 36 | 37 | | granite pylon atop what had once been a German bunker, with tablets |
|---|
| 37 | 38 | | in French and English at the base; and |
|---|
| 38 | 39 | | WHEREAS, During the 40th anniversary of D-Day, on June 6, |
|---|
| 39 | 40 | | 1984, the Ranger memorial was the site of a stirring address by |
|---|
| 40 | 41 | | President Ronald Reagan, who commemorated the invasion with these |
|---|
| 41 | 42 | | words: "The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was |
|---|
| 42 | 43 | | right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just |
|---|
| 43 | 44 | | God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was |
|---|
| 44 | 45 | | the deep knowledge--and pray God we have not lost it--that there is |
|---|
| 45 | 46 | | a profound, moral difference between the use of force for |
|---|
| 46 | 47 | | liberation and the use of force for conquest. . . . Here, in this |
|---|
| 47 | 48 | | place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. |
|---|
| 48 | 49 | | Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died |
|---|
| 49 | 50 | | for. . . . Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their valor, |
|---|
| 50 | 51 | | and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals |
|---|
| 51 | 52 | | for which they lived and died."; and |
|---|
| 52 | 53 | | WHEREAS, In 2019 our nation is commemorating the 75th |
|---|
| 53 | 54 | | anniversary of D-Day and the liberation of Europe, and this |
|---|
| 54 | 55 | | milestone occasion provides a fitting opportunity to reflect on the |
|---|
| 55 | 56 | | remarkable leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Rudder and the selfless |
|---|
| 56 | 57 | | bravery of the "Boys of Pointe du Hoc"; now, therefore, be it |
|---|
| 57 | 58 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
|---|
| 58 | 59 | | Legislature hereby pay tribute to the heroism of Lieutenant Colonel |
|---|
| 59 | 60 | | James E. Rudder and the members of the U.S. Army 2nd Ranger |
|---|
| 60 | 61 | | Battalion during the D-Day invasion of 1944. |
|---|