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WHEREAS, At Copperas Cove, Texas, the Variety Clubs of Texas maintain the nationally famous Variety Club Boys' Ranch; and

WHEREAS, This ranch is maintained for the purpose of giving a home to underprivileged, delinquent, and orphan boys who are referred to Boys' Ranch from various Courts of this State; and

WHEREAS, These boys are given excellent training in athletic programs which include football, baseball basketball, boxing, tumbling, and track, as well as regular attendance in Copperas Cove public schools; and

WHEREAS, Boys' Ranch provides study opportunity in numerous vocational fields as well as giving the boys opportunity to attend college at Tarleton and Texas A. & M.; and

WHEREAS, The boys attend church at Killeen, Texas, every Sunday; and

WHEREAS, Allied Artists has recently produced "Bad Boy", a picture based on the actual case history of the Variety Clubs' efforts to correct juvenile delinquents; and

WHEREAS, The lead in "Bad Boy" is played by Audie Murphy, who in his home town, was the kid from across the tracks, a scrawny, freckled orphan youth whom few noticed and fewer cared about; and

WHEREAS, This same Audie Murphy entered the Army in 1942 at the age of seventeen and saw combat in Europe with Company B, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Division, which he joined as a private and left two years later as its Commanding Officer; and

WHEREAS, This orphaned, teen-aged youth showed such extraordinary and repeated valor in the face of enemy fire that he was, for his personal bravery, skill in handling men in combat, and voluntary assumptions of hazardous missions, awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star with an Oak Leaf Cluster, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the E. T. O. Campaign Ribbon with seven Battle Stars, a Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon, the Expert Infantryman's Badge, the French Legion of Honor Chevalier, the Croix de Guerre with two Palms, the Fouragere, and a Purple Heart with two Oak Leaf Clusters; and

WHEREAS, These decorations made Audie Murphy the most decorated combat soldier of World War II and brought much honor and fame to his home town of Farmersville, and his native State of Texas; and

WHEREAS, Audie Murphy brought more honor and fame to Texas by marrying the movie star, Wanda Hendrix, on January third of this year; and

WHEREAS, The World Premier of "Bad Boy" will be held in Dallas at the Majestic Theater on February 16, 1949, with the proceeds to be given to the Variety Club's Boys' Ranch for expansion in their program of caring for boys from broken homes, orphans, and delinquents; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, by the House of Representatives, That the House express its deep appreciation for the heroic valor exhibited by Audie Murphy and for the youth-building program of the Variety Club's Boys' Ranch, by inviting Audie Murphy and his bride to visit the House of Representatives at 11 A. M. on February 15th, 1949, for the purpose of addressing the House of Representatives on the activities of the Variety Club's Boys' Ranch, and that the Governor of Texas, who is a member of the Variety Club, be invited to introduce Lieutenant Murphy to the House of Representatives.