TITLE: Paying tribute to the life and service of U.S. Navy Lieutenant Wilma Ledbetter of Chillicothe.

SUMMARY: Paying tribute to the life and service of U.S. Navy Lieutenant Wilma Ledbetter of Chillicothe.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, The life and sacrifice of U.S. Navy Lieutenant Wilma Ledbetter, who died in the line of duty during the Korean War, were honored at a ceremony at First United Methodist Church in Chillicothe on March 14, 2015; and WHEREAS, Born in Chillicothe on April 27, 1912, Wilma Ledbetter attended Texas State College for Women and Central State Teachers College in Edmond, Oklahoma, before changing her career goal from teaching to nursing; she subsequently trained at the Northwest Texas Hospital School of Nursing in Amarillo from 1936 to 1939; after working for a year as a nurse at the hospital, she joined the staff at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, and during the next two years she also continued her education at Louisiana State University; she returned to Texas in 1942 and worked at Brackenridge Hospital in Austin; and WHEREAS, Answering her nation's call to duty during World War II, Wilma Ledbetter joined the Navy Nurse Corps in July 1943, and she served at naval hospitals in San Diego, Hawaii, and New Orleans before being released from active duty in May 1946; the following year, she returned to duty as a member of the Navy Reserve Nurse Corps and was posted to Houston and then Nevada; in 1948, she was commissioned a lieutenant in the Nurse Corps; she worked for a time in Philadelphia, and when the Korean War broke out, she rejoined the active Navy Nurse Corps; and WHEREAS, On August 25, 1950, Lieutenant Ledbetter was serving on the USS Benevolence,a naval hospital ship, when it was accidentally rammed by a freighter in San Francisco Bay; the Benevolence keeled over on its side and sank within 45 minutes; plunged into the cold water of the bay, Lieutenant Ledbetter tried to help her fellow crew members; she was the last nurse to be pulled from the water, and the prolonged exposure tragically proved too great; she succumbed to hypothermia, becoming one of 23 people from the Benevolence to lose their lives; and WHEREAS, Sixty-five years later, Lieutenant Ledbetter's naval service was recognized in a solemn ceremony in her hometown, sponsored by the Western Trail and Austin Colony Chapters of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution; Lieutenant Ledbetter's sister, Emily Ledbetter Shoemaker, and other members of her family were presented with the lieutenant's posthumous decorations, including the World War II Victory Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Medal, and the Gold Star Pin; and WHEREAS, Lieutenant Wilma Ledbetter dedicated her life to the care of this nation's military personnel, and she kept faith with that commitment until her very last moments; for her selfless efforts and immeasurable sacrifice, Americans owe this outstanding officer a debt that the passage of time can never diminish; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life and service of U.S. Navy Lieutenant Wilma Ledbetter. Springer Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 1924 was unanimously adopted by a rising vote of the House on May 7, 2015. Chief Clerk of the House