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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor was established |
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to recognize gallant and intrepid service by a member of the state |
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or federal military forces, and Lieutenant Colonel Ed Dyess, a |
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highly decorated aviator and warrior called "the One-Man Scourge of |
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the Japanese" during World War II due to his remarkable adaptive |
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ability to fight a relentless, ruthless enemy in the Pacific |
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Theater as a combat pilot, infantry commander, prisoner of war, and |
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guerrilla, would be a fitting recipient of this prestigious award; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Albany, Shackelford County, on August 9, |
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1916, William Edwin Dyess exhibited natural leadership skills as |
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the student body president at Albany High School and as the class |
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president and commander of the R.O.T.C. detachment at John Tarleton |
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Agricultural College (now Tarleton State University); a |
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distinguished graduate of the flight schools at Randolph Field, |
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known as "the West Point of the Air," and Kelly Field in San |
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Antonio, Dyess was appointed commanding officer of the 21st Pursuit |
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Squadron and deployed to the Philippine Islands in 1941, where he |
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would become one of the first Americans to engage the enemy in World |
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War II; and |
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WHEREAS, During the early phase of the Pacific War, First |
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Lieutenant Dyess shot down six enemy planes, actions that would |
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have classified him as an "ace" if not for the lack of gun cameras |
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and the destruction by American forces of military records to |
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prevent them from falling into enemy hands; in late January 1942, |
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during an emergency shortage of combat aircraft, Dyess demonstrated |
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exceptional skill as a marksman and motivator as he led his |
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ill-equipped and inexperienced squadron of airmen in infantry |
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combat through the jungles of the Bataan Peninsula during the |
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"Battle of the Points"; and |
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WHEREAS, On February 8, 1942, Captain Dyess volunteered to |
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lead America's first amphibious landing of World War II, at |
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Agloloma Bay, to root out two enemy battalions that had entrenched |
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themselves with orders from Japanese commanding General Masaharu |
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Homma to wreak havoc behind the Filipino-American lines; Dyess was |
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the first man ashore, selflessly exposing himself to enemy fire |
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while engaging enemy positions with a Lewis machine gun and |
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motivating his apprehensive 20-man force to join him; amidst |
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exploding bombs, Dyess and his party secured the beachhead using |
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automatic weapons and hand grenades and eliminated approximately 75 |
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heavily armed, elite Japanese troops who had fortified themselves |
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in caves; the failure of General Homma's operation allowed American |
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forces in the Philippines to hold out a few months longer, trapping |
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enemy resources and giving America time to mobilize in the wake of |
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the attack on Pearl Harbor; and |
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WHEREAS, On March 2, 1942, Dyess led nine pilots flying five |
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battered warplanes in a daring raid on the enemy supply depot at |
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Subic Bay, Luzon; flying a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk rigged to carry |
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500-pound bombs, Dyess braved heavy antiaircraft fire, engaged an |
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enemy cruiser, and ultimately destroyed one 12,000-ton transport, |
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one 6,000-ton vessel, at least two 100-ton motor launches, and a |
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handful of barges and lighters; in order to save face, Radio Tokyo |
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reported that 54 bombers and swarms of fighter planes had been |
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responsible for the attack; Dyess was presented with the |
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Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest military |
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decoration that can be awarded, for the extraordinary heroism that |
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he displayed on this occasion; and |
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WHEREAS, Although many officers began to shirk their duties |
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and pull rank as the military situation deteriorated, Dyess worked |
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hard to boost the morale of his men, cleaning cockpits and flying |
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countless reconnaissance, resupply, and evacuation missions; he |
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sometimes flew up to 1,400 miles through enemy skies to bring back |
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desperately needed medicines and telegrams for his men; and |
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WHEREAS, Dyess refused multiple opportunities to leave the |
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doomed Bataan Peninsula and endeavored to ensure others were |
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evacuated before him; Dyess personally supervised the boarding of |
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evacuees on the last flyable aircraft on Bataan; the final seat was |
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reserved for Dyess himself, but at the last second he ordered a |
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friend onto the plane in his stead; and |
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WHEREAS, After the surrender of 75,000 American and Filipino |
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troops on Bataan on April 9, 1942, Dyess endured the most horrific |
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war crime in the history of the United States, the Bataan Death |
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March; Dyess watched as prisoners of war were denied water and |
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medical care, beaten, beheaded, whipped, shot, buried alive, run |
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over by tanks, and used for bayonet practice; due to his height, |
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fair complexion, and status as an officer, Dyess was singled out for |
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mistreatment and suffered through savage beatings; despite this, |
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Dyess shepherded his men forward, helped the wounded, and noted the |
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horrors taking place around him so that he could describe them in a |
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firsthand account; for the next six months, Dyess endured |
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starvation, disease, interrogation, and torture in two squalid |
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prison camps on Luzon, where he continued to encourage and aid his |
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fellow prisoners, smuggling food and medicine to those in need; and |
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WHEREAS, In November 1942, Captain Dyess arrived at the Davao |
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Penal Colony, known as "Dapecol," a reportedly escape-proof prison |
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plantation where 2,000 American prisoners of war were being forced |
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to work as slave laborers; while at Dapecol, Dyess co-organized a |
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team of United States military personnel to execute the only |
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large-scale prison break of prisoners of war in the Pacific War; |
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Dyess volunteered for the dangerous task of transporting the escape |
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party's gear on a bull cart past multiple guard checkpoints; on |
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April 4, 1943, the "Davao Dozen," 10 American prisoners of war and |
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two Filipino convicts, made their amazing escape through a deep, |
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crocodile-infested swamp; after eluding search parties, Dyess |
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fought alongside Filipino guerrilla forces behind enemy lines |
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before evacuating to Australia in July 1943; he received a |
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promotion to major and was personally presented with his second |
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Distinguished Service Cross, in the form of a Bronze Oak Leaf |
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Cluster, by General MacArthur on July 30, 1943; and |
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WHEREAS, Dyess would have enjoyed a hero's welcome had his |
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superiors not consigned him to a military hospital in the mountains |
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of West Virginia, where he was subjected to secret debriefings by |
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government officials; he was sequestered there because the |
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government feared that his story, if released to the public, would |
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jeopardize the "Europe First" strategic policy and Pacific prisoner |
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of war relief efforts of the Allies; despite suffering from |
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depression and severe post-traumatic stress disorder, Dyess was |
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determined to make his account of the Bataan Death March and other |
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atrocities known to the public, and he entered into a publishing |
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agreement with the Chicago Tribune; his epic story, trumpeted by |
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the War Department as "The Greatest Story of the War in the |
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Pacific," was eventually released on January 28, 1944, skillfully |
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timed to harness the full fury of America's anger; stagnant war bond |
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sales and service enlistment numbers soared as Dyess's revelations |
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forced America out of a mid-war complacency; and |
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WHEREAS, Lieutenant Colonel Dyess never lived to see his |
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remarkable story take hold of America; during a routine flight over |
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Los Angeles on December 22, 1943, his P-38 Lightning began to have |
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engine trouble; rather than bailing out and letting his plane |
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careen into a crowded residential area, Dyess attempted an |
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emergency city street landing, but he pulled up at the last moment |
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to avoid hitting a motorist who had strayed into his path; while |
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attempting to guide his crippled aircraft onto a vacant lot, he |
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struck a church and was killed instantly when his plane crashed; |
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Dyess was awarded the Soldier's Medal posthumously in recognition |
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of a heroic act not involving an armed enemy; Dyess's family |
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resisted the public's clamor for his interment at Arlington |
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National Cemetery and instead buried him in his beloved home state |
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in the Albany Cemetery; to this day, the only public recognition of |
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Dyess and his incredible life was the renaming of Abilene Air Force |
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Base to Dyess Air Force Base in 1956; and |
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WHEREAS, Lieutenant Colonel Ed Dyess risked his life |
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repeatedly in defense of his country, and he put the welfare of his |
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fellow prisoners of war ahead of his own; he revealed to the |
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American people a vital aspect of the war, and he ultimately |
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sacrificed his own life to save the life of another; he is most |
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assuredly deserving of this state's supreme military award; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby direct the governor of the State of Texas to award the Texas |
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Legislative Medal of Honor posthumously to Lieutenant Colonel Ed |
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Dyess in recognition of his extraordinary military service and |
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remarkable succession of valorous acts in World War II. |
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