89R14999 JRI-F
By: Huffman S.R. No. 143
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas joins the citizens
of Texas in remembering the life and legacy of Medal of Honor
recipient Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez and the loaning of his
Medal of Honor to the new National Medal of Honor Museum in
Arlington; and
WHEREAS, A native Texan, Master Sergeant Benavidez was born
on August 5, 1935, in Lindenau, the son of a sharecropper; orphaned
at an early age and raised by relatives, he dropped out of school at
the age of 14 to work in the fields before enlisting in the U.S. Army
in June 1955; and
WHEREAS, While on his first tour of duty in Vietnam, this
admirable soldier was injured by a land mine, and though doctors
feared he might never walk again, Master Sergeant Benavidez
recovered fully and returned to Vietnam with the Green Berets, an
elite Special Forces unit; and
WHEREAS, On the morning of May 2, 1968, while assigned to the
Loc Ninh base in South Vietnam, then-Sergeant Benavidez learned
that 12 members of a Special Forces reconnaissance team were
surrounded by enemy troops inside Cambodia and under heavy fire;
this heroic Texan courageously volunteered for the evacuation
mission to aid in the rescue of his fellow soldiers; and
WHEREAS, Though intense small-arms and antiaircraft fire
made the rescue operation tremendously dangerous, Sergeant
Benavidez jumped from the helicopter into enemy gunsights; even
before he reached the stranded team's position, he had been wounded
in his right leg, face, and head, yet despite his painful injuries,
Sergeant Benavidez carried the wounded men to the waiting
helicopter and provided protective fire to cover the remaining
crew; and
WHEREAS, The mission grew more complicated as Sergeant
Benavidez retrieved classified documents from dead and wounded team
members, and he worked quickly to secure them despite sustaining
more severe wounds from gunshots to his abdomen and grenade
fragments in his back; while attempting takeoff, the pilot was
mortally wounded, and the helicopter crashed; despite the chaos
around him, Sergeant Benavidez freed those aboard from the wreckage
and established a defensive perimeter under increasing enemy
gunfire and grenade attacks; and
WHEREAS, Acting as a medic, directing by radio the fire from
gunships overhead, and even engaging in hand-to-hand combat with
the enemy, Sergeant Benavidez bravely weathered a harrowing six
hours in hell and saved the lives of eight men through his
leadership and action; he had been clubbed, shot, and bayoneted,
yet Sergeant Benavidez prevailed, and when his actions were praised
as awesome and extraordinary, he defined them only as duty; and
WHEREAS, For his exceptional valor, Sergeant Benavidez was
awarded the Distinguished Service Cross; then on February 24, 1981,
44 years ago today, Master Sergeant (Ret.) Roy P. Benavidez was
presented with the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Ronald
Reagan; and
WHEREAS, Even after his retirement from the military, he
continued to serve his country by devoting his time and energy to
veterans groups and by visiting schools to speak to youths on
critical issues such as courage, commitment, education, faith,
patriotism, and staying away from drug use and gangs; and
WHEREAS, Though this brave soldier died on November 29, 1998,
his widow Hilaria "Lala" Coy Benavidez and their three children,
son Noel and daughters Yvette and Denise, have carried on Master
Sergeant Benavidez's legacy by remaining active in their community
with various civic organizations and volunteering their time with
the Boy Scouts of America, which paved the way for six of Master
Sergeant Benavidez's grandsons to earn the rank of Eagle Scout; and
WHEREAS, On February 6, 2011, the late Hilaria "Lala" Coy
Benavidez generously loaned her husband's Medal of Honor to the
Ronald Regan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, where
it was on display for tens of thousands of museum visitors to see
and learn about the life and legacy of Master Sergeant Roy P.
Benavidez; and
WHEREAS, On January 3, 2025, the children of Master Sergeant
Roy P. Benavidez traveled to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
to take part in a handoff ceremony, which consisted of the Ronald
Reagan Presidential Library handing over Master Sergeant Roy
P. Benavidez's Medal of Honor to his three children so that it can
return home to Texas; and
WHEREAS, The children of Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez
have generously loaned their father's Medal of Honor to the new
National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, where it will be one of
several Medals of Honor from living and deceased recipients that
have been either donated or loaned to the new museum and will be on
display for the public to see; and
WHEREAS, A deserving recipient of the highest and most
prestigious military decoration of valor, Roy Benavidez
demonstrated extraordinary courage in the line of duty, and he will
forever be remembered with great admiration; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 89th Texas Legislature
hereby pay tribute to the life and legacy of Master Sergeant Roy
P. Benavidez and extend to his family sincere appreciation for
their generosity in sharing his inspiring story with others; and,
be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for his family as an expression of deepest gratitude from
the Texas Senate and that when the Senate adjourns this day, it do
so in memory of Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez and his wife Lala.