House Resolution 42 - Introduced

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  1  1                HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.    
  1  2                        BY  SWAIM
  1  3 A Resolution to recognize and honor Johnny
  1  4    Talbot of Centerville for his service as a navy
  1  5    fighter pilot in the Battle of Midway.
  1  6    WHEREAS, Johnny Talbot, a native of Centerville,
  1  7 served in the United States Navy from 1939 through the
  1  8 end of World War II; and
  1  9    WHEREAS, Johnny Talbot was a navy fighter pilot and
  1 10 at 22 years of age flew an F4F=4 Wildcat in the Battle
  1 11 of Midway; and
  1 12    WHEREAS, on June 4, 1942, Johnny Talbot departed in
  1 13 his Wildcat knowing he did not have enough fuel to
  1 14 make it back to his carrier, the USS Hornet; and
  1 15    WHEREAS, Johnny Talbot's part in the engagement
  1 16 ended after four hours of flight time when his Wildcat
  1 17 ran out of fuel; and
  1 18    WHEREAS, Johnny Talbot had only 25 to 30 seconds to
  1 19 exit his cramped cockpit and reach into a back
  1 20 compartment to retrieve his life raft before the
  1 21 Wildcat sank; and
  1 22    WHEREAS, Johnny Talbot almost went down with the
  1 23 plane when his foot became snagged on an antenna; and
  1 24    WHEREAS, once in the water, Johnny Talbot found
  1 25 that his life raft would not automatically inflate and
  1 26 his air pump would not work, so he used his breath to
  1 27 inflate the raft; and
  1 28    WHEREAS, Johnny Talbot spent six days lost at sea,
  1 29 scorched by the sun and chilled by the night, with
  1 30 only a half canteen of water and a bottle of malt
  2  1 tablets for survival, without knowledge of whether
  2  2 American forces were left after the engagement to
  2  3 mount rescue operations; and
  2  4    WHEREAS, Johnny Talbot saw several planes fly
  2  5 overhead before a PBY Catalina patrol plane finally
  2  6 spotted him and landed; and
  2  7    WHEREAS, soon after being released from the
  2  8 hospital, Johnny Talbot taught Army Air Corps pilots
  2  9 about flying in combat; and
  2 10    WHEREAS, for the rest of the war, Johnny Talbot was
  2 11 transferred between actual combat assignments and the
  2 12 teaching of new pilots; and
  2 13    WHEREAS, Johnny Talbot, having had many experiences
  2 14 throughout his navy service, also escorted the famous
  2 15 Jimmy Doolittle raid halfway to Tokyo, in which 16 B=
  2 16 25 twin=engine bombers left the deck of the USS Hornet
  2 17 to complete a surprise bombing on the Japanese
  2 18 mainland; and
  2 19    WHEREAS, Johnny Talbot is among the last of
  2 20 surviving U.S. Navy aviators that so courageously
  2 21 served in the Battle of Midway, making the personal
  2 22 sacrifice required to succeed against Japan in World
  2 23 War II; NOW THEREFORE,
  2 24    BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
  2 25 That the House of Representatives honors Johnny Talbot
  2 26 of Centerville for his service to our nation,
  2 27 especially his service as a navy fighter pilot in the
  2 28 Battle of Midway; and
  2 29    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That, upon passage, a copy
  2 30 of this Resolution be prepared for and transmitted to
  3  1 Johnny Talbot.
  3  2 LSB 3552HH 81
  3  3 eg:rj/sh/8