Bill Text: VA HJR65 | 2018 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commemorating the life and legacy of Captain Andrew Maples, Jr., USA.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-03-05 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ65ER) [HJR65 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2018-HJR65-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Captain Andrew Maples, Jr., USA, of Orange County, who was killed in action during World War II, was honored with a historical marker in 2017; and
WHEREAS, Andrew Maples grew up in Orange County and joined many other young men of his generation in service to the nation during World War II; he and five of his brothers followed in the footsteps of their father, a veteran of World War I; and
WHEREAS, after completing the Civilian Pilot Training Program at Hampton Institute in 1941 and graduating from the Advanced Flying School at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama in 1944, Andrew Maples deployed to Italy with the 301st Fighter Squadron as a second lieutenant; and
WHEREAS, Andrew Maples and the other Tuskegee Airmen, a segregated all-black unit of the United States Army Air Corps, earned one of the best fighting records of the war and are recognized as some of the finest pilots of the era; and
WHEREAS, during a bomber escort mission to Hungary on June 26, 1944, Andrew Maples' P-47 Thunderbolt was shot down over the Adriatic Sea; while listed as missing in action, he was promoted to captain and awarded the Air Medal; and
WHEREAS, Andrew Maples was officially declared dead in June 1945 and posthumously awarded the Purple Heart; his name is inscribed on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial and on a memorial in Richmond for airmen who were killed during World War II; and
WHEREAS, in 2017, a historical marker was dedicated in Taylor Park at South Madison Road and West Church Street on land that was once owned by the Maples family and the former site of Andrew Maples' childhood home; and
WHEREAS, the historical marker honors the service and sacrifices of not only Andrew Maples, but all American men and women in uniform throughout the world; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commemorate the life and legacy of Captain Andrew Maples, Jr., USA, on the dedication of a historical marker in his honor in 2017; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Orange Downtown Alliance as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for the honorable service of Captain Andrew Maples, Jr., USA.
