M . B . Etheredge M B Etheredge was awarded the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor by the Texas Legislature for his actions during battle in World War II . House Concurrent Resolution No . 27 conferring the honor was adopted by both the House and Senate in May 2003 and approved by Governor Rick Perry in June 2003 . Representatives Dan Ellis and Lois Kolkhorst sponsored the resolution . The below text was extracted from the resolution . " On the night of March 12 13 , 1944 , Col . Etheredge was assistant commander of a combat patrol when it came under heavy machine gun fire north of Carano , Italy ; disregarding the bullets flying all about him , he personally led his squad in a successful assault on the machine gun ; when a second machine gun erupted , he again braved the barrage as he directed his men in laying down fire , allowing the main part of the patrol to advance against the gun and silence it . " " Farther along , a third strong point opened heavy fire ; once more , Col . Etheredge moved about aggressively in the midst of this attack , developing a strong firing line and enabling the main body of the patrol to skirt the house and continue on its mission ; altogether , the patrol killed at least 10 Germans , captured 12 , and knocked out two machine guns , and Col . Etheredge ' s remarkable gallantry and leadership in this operation earned for him a Silver Star . " " Two months later , on May 23 , 1944 , in Italy , Col . Etheredge immediately took charge of Company " K , " 30th Infantry Regiment , when the commanding officer and other key personnel were cut down ; deciding to continue the attack , he ignored heavy fire to move up and down a ditch for 75 yards , reorganizing his company and bolstering its morale ; though wounded in the leg , he then led his men running and crawling into the face of steady small arms fire for some 550 yards , rested them for 10 minutes , and then resumed the assault , advancing another 250 yards , overrunning the objective and organizing an all ‑ around defensive position . " " Col . Etheredge ' s actions were instrumental in securing a vital battalion target , relieving pressure on two flank companies , and opening a way for a third company to advance ; his critical role in this day ' s action was rewarded with the appendage of an oak leaf cluster to his Silver Star . " " Col . Etheredge subsequently commanded Company " K " in France ; there , on August 16 , 1944 , he once again exposed himself to gunfire in the course of significantly assisting the American advance ; he was sitting atop a tank destroyer , directing its fire at German ‑ held buildings 200 yards distant , when he barely escaped a machine ‑ gun fusillade ; " a platoon flanking the building then fell into disarray and Col . Etheredge dashed across 75 yards of open ground through more machine ‑ gun fire to reorganize the group ; choosing a route that skirted the barbed wire outside the buildings , he next led a 50 ‑ yard assault that captured 29 enemy soldiers , an anti ‑ tank gun , a mortar , large quantities of ammunition , and numerous vehicles ; in recognition of his bravery and decisive command , he received a second oak leaf cluster . " " During the war Col . Etheredge also received two Bronze Star s and two Purple Heart s ; he was eventually discharged with the highest efficiency rating of any officer discharged from the Fourth Army ; this dauntless soldier later served three terms in the Texas Legislature and taught for 33 years at Sam Houston State University . "