MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2005 3rd Extraordinary Session

To: Rules

By: Representative Akins, Fredericks, Gadd, Gunn, Martinson, McBride, Montgomery, Robinson (84th), Rogers (14th), Staples, Stevens, Turner

House Resolution 6

(As Adopted by House)

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE COURAGE AND ENDURANCE OF MARIA MCFADDEN-BEEK WHILE HELD AS A PRISONER OF WAR IN JAPANESE DETAINMENT DURING WORLD WAR II AND THE INDONESIAN REVOLUTION.

     WHEREAS, Maria Magdalena McFadden-Beek, born in Bandung, West Java, on April 22, 1925, of Dutch parents who came to Java in 1919; and

     WHEREAS, a survivor of World War II and the Indonesian revolution, Mrs. McFadden-Beek vividly recalls the harsh realities of war and imprisonment that she, her mother and younger siblings endured as prisoners of war in Japanese detainment; and

     WHEREAS, penning her account in a literary piece entitled Ode to My Mother, Mrs. McFadden-Beek relays the message of love, courage, strength and support gained from her mother as she endured those turbulent times; and

     WHEREAS, after Japanese surrender, Mrs. McFadden-Beek stayed briefly in Australia before emigrating to the United States in 1946, where she arrived on July 26 aboard the SS Mariposa in San Francisco; and

     WHEREAS, finding employment as a model with I. Magnin, later becoming an assistant in the Custom Made Salon, she eventually moved to southern California and worked in San Bernardino; and

     WHEREAS, married to an air force officer, after 22 moves in 20 years of marriage, Mrs. McFadden-Beek and her husband retired to Oxford, Mississippi, in 1973, where they raised beef cattle and Appaloosa horses for 15 years; and

     WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to recognize and commend the courage of such an outstanding individual as Mrs. McFadden-Beek:

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend the courage and endurance of Maria Magdalena McFadden-Beek while being held as a prisoner of war in Japanese detainment during World War II and the Indonesian Revolution.

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Mrs. McFadden-Beek and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.