| Texas Legislative Medal of Honor | |
| Presenter: | Texas Legislature and Texas Military Department |
| Type: | Military decoration |
| Eligibility: | Texas Military Forces and United States Armed Forces |
| Awarded For: | Gallantry |
| Status: | Currently issued |
| Description: | The neck ribbon is green with white stars, and the medal features an image of the reverse of the Seal of Texas, including Vince's Bridge, cannon of the Battle of Gonzales, Alamo Mission in San Antonio and the six historical flags of Texas. |
| Established: | May 3, 1963 |
| Firstawarded: | 1997 |
| Lastawarded: | 2021 |
| Total Awarded: | 16 |
| Higher: | None (highest) |
| Lower: | Lone Star Medal of Valor |
The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor, commonly referred to as the Texas Medal of Honor, is the highest military decoration that can be conferred to a service member of the Texas Military Forces.[1] It can also be conferred to service members of the United States Armed Forces. Subsequent decorations are conferred by a gold twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem device.[2] A lapel button is also conferred with this decoration.
The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor shall be conferred to a member of the Texas Military Forces or United States Armed Forces (effective June 20, 2003) designated by concurrent resolution of the legislature who voluntarily performs a deed of personal bravery or self-sacrifice involving risk of life that is so conspicuous as to clearly distinguish the person for gallantry and intrepidity above the person's comrades. Decoration shall be considered on the standard of extraordinary merit. Decoration is only conferred on incontestable proof of performance of the deed.
Initially, the law permitted one person to be selected from various nominees for the decoration by a 5-member nominating committee (effective June 20, 2003) every two years since 1997. The nominating committee consists of the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House, the Adjutant General of the Texas Military Forces and the chairs of the Senate Veteran Affairs Committee and the Defense and Veterans Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives. The law reads in part:
(d) The legislature by concurrent resolution may direct the governor to confer the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor to a person nominated by the nominating committee. The committee chairs serving on the nominating committee shall jointly prepare a concurrent resolution directing the governor to confer the medal to a person nominated. The legislature may direct the medal to be conferred only during a
In 2013, HB 1589 was signed into law by Governor Rick Perry amending the statute for the bestowal of two Texas Legislative Medals of Honor each legislative session, one for service pre-1956 and one for service post-1957.[3]
On May 18, 2023 the Texas Senate passed Rep. Terry Wilson's HB 4421 by a 31-0 vote to award the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor to any Texan who has received the Medal of Honor. The legislation further established three time periods for the award as pre-1955, 1955 to September 10, 2001, and September 11, 2001 to the present date. https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=88R&Bill=HB4421
The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor was authorized by the Fifty-eighth Texas Legislature in Senate Bill Number 279 by Senator Babe Schwartz and was approved by the Governor John Connally on May 3, 1963, effective August 23, 1963. The first recipient was not awarded until 1997 when Representative Tommy Merritt discovered that the award existed and had never been awarded. Senator Jerry Patterson, then the chair of the Veteran Affairs and Military Installations Committee, assisted in the process of selecting the first recipient and creating a process for the further awarding of the medal.
| Dateconferred | Service Member | Abbreviated Citation | Texas Military Unit | Branch of Service | Conflict/Event | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | James Logan | First Texas Medal of Honor recipient; undertook heroic acts to halt a German counterattack. Awarded the Medal of Honor. | 141st Infantry Regiment | Texas National Guard | Operation Avalanche | [4] | |
| 1999 | Jack Knight | Single-handedly destroyed two Imperial Japanese pillboxes; was killed by grenade while attacking a third pillbox. Awarded the Medal of Honor. | 124th Cavalry Regiment | Texas National Guard | Burma Road assault | [5] | |
| 2001 | Roy Benavidez | Voluntarily entered a combat zone; saved the lives of at least eight men; shot seven times, stabbed twice, 28 fragmentation wounds. Awarded the Medal of Honor. | Texas native; not in Texas Military unit at time of citation. | United States Army | Cambodia rescue mission | [6] | |
| 2003 | Mode Etheredge | Took command after CO was killed; while wounded led unit over 700 yards under fire; achieved unit objective; awarded the Silver Star. | Texas native; not in Texas Military unit at time of citation. | United States Army | Battle of Anzio | [7] | |
| 2005 | Robert Edlin | Led four Rangers through a minefield, captured four Krupp K5 guns, and 800 German soldiers. Awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. | Texas citizen; not in Texas Military unit at time of citation. | United States Army | Battle for Brest | [8] | |
| 2007 | Alfredo Gonzalez | Saved a Marine; while wounded, single-handedly destroyed Viet Cong position; was killed attacking additional positions. Awarded the Medal of Honor. | Texas native; not in Texas Military unit at time of citation. | United States Marine Corps | Battle of Huế | [9] | |
| 2009 | Pedro Cano | Single-handedly destroyed nine Nazi machine-gun positions. Awarded the Medal of Honor. | Texas citizen; not in Texas Military unit at time of citation. | United States Army | Battle of Hürtgen Forest | [10] | |
| 2011 | Roy Cisneros | Single-handedly charged a fortified enemy position; killed during assault; awarded the Navy Cross. | Texas native; not in Texas Military unit at time of citation. | United States Marine Corps | Quảng Trị Province patrol | [11] | |
| 2013 | Killed while saving three soldiers during IED and RPG attack. Awarded the Silver Star. | Texas citizen; not in Texas Military unit at time of citation. | United States Army | Paktika Province patrol | [12] | ||
| 2013 | Audie Murphy | Single-handedly halted a tank attack; killed or wounded fifty German soldiers; launched a counterattack while wounded. Awarded the Medal of Honor. | Texas native; not in Texas Military unit at time of citation. | United States Army | Colmar Pocket | [13] | |
| 2015 | Served four tours of duty; survived six IEDs and two gunshot wounds; single-handedly killed at least 150 enemy combatants. Awarded the Silver Star. | Texas native; not in Texas Military unit at time of citation. | United States Navy | Operation Iraqi Freedom | [14] | ||
| 2015 | William Dyess | Survived the Bataan Death March; organized the only large-scale escape of prisoners of war in the Pacific Theater. Awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. | Texas native; not in Texas Military unit at time of citation. | United States Army Air Corps | Battle of Bataan | [15] | |
| 2017 | Travis Watkins | Saved 30 soldiers; fought to the death while paralyzed from the waist down. Awarded the Medal of Honor. | Texas citizen; not in Texas Military unit at time of citation. | United States Army | Battle of Yongsan | [16] | |
| 2019 | George Turner | Awarded the Medal of Honor for heroic courage and initiative during World War II at Phillippsbourg, France on January 3, 1945. | Texas native; not in a Texas Military unit. | United States Army | European theatre of World War II | [17] | |
| 2021 | Marcelino Serna | Extreme heroism in single-handedly capturing 24 Germans during an engagement in WWI. Awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. | Texas resident; not in Texas Military unit at time of citation. | United States Army | Battle of Meuse-Argonne | ||
| 2021 | William Flores | Gave his life in attempting save fellow Coast Guardsmen during the sinking of the USCGC Blackthorn. Awarded the Coast Guard Medal. | Texas citizen; not in Texas Military unit at time of citation. | United States Coast Guard | Sinking of the USCGC Blackthorn | ||
| 2023 | Jerry Bell | Served in the U.S. Army and in Vietnam. Given for his career service and not a single heroic event. Uncle of Rep. Cecil Bell. | Texas resident | United States Army | Vietnam War and entire career | ||
| 2023 | Mike C. Pena | Gave his life in defending his fellow soldiers in the Korean War. Awarded the Medal of Honor. | Texas citizen; not in Texas Military unit at time of citation. | United States Army | Battle of Tabu-dong | ||