TITLE: Honoring the life of Colonel James "Nikki" Rowe of McAllen on the 22nd anniversary of his death.

SUMMARY: Honoring the life of Colonel James "Nikki" Rowe of McAllen on the 22nd anniversary of his death.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, April 21, 2011, marked the 22nd anniversary of the death of United States Army Colonel James Nicholas Rowe, and many residents of McAllen paused on that day to somberly reflect on his heroism and remarkable achievements; and WHEREAS, The son of Lee and Florence Rowe, "Nikki" Rowe was born in McAllen on February 8, 1938; he graduated from McAllen High School and the United States Military Academy at West Point; in 1963, three months after he was posted to South Vietnam as a Special Forces advisor, he was taken prisoner in a firefight; he was held for five years under horrific conditions but remained strong and defiant, earning the nickname "Mr. Trouble" from his captors; on December 31, 1968, he became one of only 34 American prisoners of war to escape from the Viet Cong; and WHEREAS, Colonel Rowe applied for voluntary recall to active duty when he returned home and taught a POW-MIA planning and training program at Fort Bragg in North Carolina; in 1971, he published a bestselling, critically acclaimed account of his ordeal, Five Years to Freedom;he left the military in 1974, and he authored several other books before rejoining the army as a lieutenant colonel in 1981 to head its Green Beret training program at Fort Bragg; guided by his POW experiences, he developed and ran the Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape program, known as SERE, which is used today by other branches of the military as well; and WHEREAS, From 1985 until 1987, Colonel Rowe commanded Fort Bragg's First Special Warfare Training Battalion; he was then appointed chief of the Army Division at the Joint United States Military Advisory Group headquarters in Quezon City, Philippines; on April 21, 1989, he was killed in an ambush on his way to work by members of the New Peoples' Army, a Communist rebel group; and WHEREAS, This courageous Texan was the recipient of numerous decorations, among them the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts; he received myriad nonmilitary awards as well, including the American Patriot Award and George Washington Honor Medal from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge and the Outstanding Young Man of America award; in McAllen, Second Street and VFW Post No. 2369 were renamed in his honor, and James Nikki Rowe High School also stands as a testament to the community's enduring pride in his accomplishments; and WHEREAS, Nikki Rowe's patriotism, valor, and iron determination remain a source of inspiration to all Americans, and through his leadership in creating the SERE program, he left an extraordinary legacy that continues to benefit members of our nation's military around the world; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas Legislature hereby honor the life of Colonel James "Nikki" Rowe and commemorate the 22nd anniversary of his death. Gonzales of Hidalgo Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 1927 was unanimously adopted by a rising vote of the House on May 19, 2011. Chief Clerk of the House