MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2003 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Dawkins, Lee, Cuevas, Hewes, Gollott, Smith, Thames, Kirby, White, King, Chaney, Dearing, Posey, Bryan, Carmichael, Chamberlin, Huggins, Dickerson, Moffatt, Browning, Minor, Little, Jordan, Furniss, Frazier, Scoper, Canon, Michel, Mettetal, Gordon, Nunnelee, Jackson, Williamson, Blackmon, Stogner, Carlton, Tollison, Robertson, Burton, Harvey, Hyde-Smith, Johnson (19th), Ross, Walden
A RESOLUTION REMEMBERING THE GALLANT SERVICE AND COMMENDING THE LIFE OF 2ND LT. THERREL SHANE CHILDERS OF SAUCIER, MISSISSIPPI, ONE OF THE FIRST TWO AMERICAN COMBAT CASUALTIES IN OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM.
WHEREAS, Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Therrel Shane Childers (age 30) was among the first two American combat casualties in Operation Iraqi Freedom when he was shot and killed by hostile fire in Southern Iraq on Friday, March 21, 2003, while leading his men into combat; and
WHEREAS, Lt. Childers graduated from Harrison Central High School in 1990 while living in Saucier, Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, Childers' father was a Navy Seabee, but he decided to join the Marines and enlisted following his graduation from Harrison Central; in 1998 he was accepted into the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program (MECEP) and attended The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, where he was a French Language Major, Dean's List Student and excellent role model for the other cadets, graduating in 2001; and
WHEREAS, Lt. Childers was an infantry officer and a platoon commander in the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, and was part of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force stationed at Camp Pendleton, California, which suffered the first two casualties in Iraq; and
WHEREAS, friends of Shane Childers say that from an early age, he was the epitome of a model Marine, a conscientious student, polite and kind, strong in mind and body with a love of his family and country; and
WHEREAS, Childers' father, Joseph, served in the Navy for 22 years as a Seabee with the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 62 and 133 while stationed in Gulfport and the 20th Naval Construction Regiment at the Naval Construction Training Center; and his younger brother, Sam, has served over 8 years in the Navy; the Childerses are remembered as a Seabee family who loved the country and spent much of their time outdoors; and
WHEREAS, Mississippians understand the costs of conflict because we have paid them in the past, and it is with great pride and humility that we recognize the heroic action of this great American and Mississippian, who was the guardian of civilization as we know it today:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby remember the gallant service and commend the life of Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Therrel Shane Childers of Saucier, Mississippi, infantry officer and platoon commander who died Friday, March 21, 2003, of wounds suffered in combat in Iraq, and was among the first two American combat casualties in Iraq, and extend the thoughts and prayers of the Mississippi Senate to his family and our sorrow on his passing.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be forwarded to the surviving family of Lt. Childers and Commander-in-Chief of United States Armed Forces President George W. Bush, and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.