H.R. No. 2200
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, During the D-Day invasion of Normandy 75 years ago
this June, Lieutenant Colonel James E. Rudder and the men of the
U.S. Army 2nd Ranger Battalion displayed exceptional courage and
fortitude in their assault on the German position at Pointe du Hoc;
and
WHEREAS, Regarded as one of the most dangerous enemy
positions along the Normandy coast, Pointe du Hoc is a promontory
with sheer 100-foot cliffs, and it was the site of six large German
guns that posed a direct threat to the Allied troops coming ashore
at Utah and Omaha beaches; capturing the position and silencing
those guns was vital to the success of D-Day, and Allied Supreme
Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower assigned this difficult
mission to the 2nd Ranger Battalion under the leadership of
Lieutenant Colonel Rudder, a native Texan and a graduate of the
Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets; and
WHEREAS, At 7:10 on the morning of June 6, 1944, Lieutenant
Colonel Rudder and his Rangers jumped from their landing craft and
waded through the surf to the foot of the cliffs; braving withering
machine gun fire and hand grenade explosions, these valiant men
shot rope ladders over the cliffs and began pulling themselves up;
as one Ranger fell, another began to climb in his place, and by 9:30
a.m. the battalion had taken the promontory and destroyed the guns;
they continued to hold the position in the face of fierce
counterattacks until they were relieved on June 8; after two days of
fighting, only 90 of the original 225 who came ashore could still
bear arms; and
WHEREAS, The heroes of this engagement were later
immortalized by the historian Douglas Brinkley in his best-selling
book The Boys of Pointe du Hoc, and their sacrifice was further
recognized by the French, who erected a monument to the 2nd Ranger
Battalion atop Pointe du Hoc; this striking memorial consists of a
granite pylon atop what had once been a German bunker, with tablets
in French and English at the base; and
WHEREAS, During the 40th anniversary of D-Day, on June 6,
1984, the Ranger memorial was the site of a stirring address by
President Ronald Reagan, who commemorated the invasion with these
words: "The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was
right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just
God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was
the deep knowledge--and pray God we have not lost it--that there is
a profound, moral difference between the use of force for
liberation and the use of force for conquest. . . . Here, in this
place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead.
Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died
for. . . . Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their valor,
and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals
for which they lived and died."; and
WHEREAS, In 2019 our nation is commemorating the 75th
anniversary of D-Day and the liberation of Europe, and this
milestone occasion provides a fitting opportunity to reflect on the
remarkable leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Rudder and the selfless
bravery of the "Boys of Pointe du Hoc"; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the heroism of Lieutenant Colonel
James E. Rudder and the members of the U.S. Army 2nd Ranger
Battalion during the D-Day invasion of 1944.
Price
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 2200 was adopted by the House on May
27, 2019, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House