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TO CONGRATULATE VESTER OWENS OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS, ON THE OCCASION OF HIS ONE HUNDREDTH BIRTHDAY AND TO WISH HIM A JOYOUS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION AND MANY YEARS OF CONTINUED HEALTH AND HAPPINESS.
Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives is delighted to learn that Vester Owens will celebrate his one hundredth birthday surrounded by family and friends at a celebration to honor him on April 9, 2022; and
Whereas, born in Cross in 1922, in the first quarter of the twentieth century, he has witnessed remarkable social changes, technological advancements, and international developments that have spanned the globe into the first quarter of the twenty-first century; and
Whereas, as a youngster, Mr. Owens was reared on cotton farmland where his family earned a living in Berkeley County. Some of that land now lies beneath Lake Moultrie since the damming of the Cooper River in the late 1940s; and
Whereas, although life was hard for him and his family, they did not go hungry because they kept two milking cows and had hogs and meat to eat. His favorite memory in Cross was carrying sacks of corn to the grist mill to be ground into the Southern delicacy or into meal or flour, and although there were schools in Cross, the distance was substantial, and no buses existed for Black children; and
Whereas, in 1942, while working in Charleston with his brother at a creosote factory, Mr. Owens was drafted into the United States Army, sent to Fort Bragg, and later shipped to Europe with other segregated Blacks who were assigned to the bottom of the ship; and
Whereas, Mr. Owens worked with the supply unit bringing supplies across the English Channel to France and preparing for the invasion. Risking his life as German forces attempted to cut off the necessary supply lines, he helped the largest invasion in history move forward. He served in Normandy, France, on D-Day during that historic and bloody encounter; and
Whereas, as fighting moved inland following the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944, his unit's convoys were at the rear with supplies like ammunition, fuel, and rations, which the German forces would attack to prevent supplies from getting where they were needed; and
Whereas, Mr. Owens' memories of the war-torn country remain vivid, as he recalls seeing areas where no houses remained standing as far as the eye could see; and
Whereas, by the Lord's mercy, he made it back alive after four years in the Army, but returned to a segregated United States where Black soldiers did not receive the large, public receptions that White soldiers received; and
Whereas, President Harry Truman, however, signed an executive order in 1948 to desegregate the military, and Mr. Owens reenlisted, joining the newly formed United States Air Force, and was stationed at Fort Worth, Texas, where he lives today. He retired in 1967; and
Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives is pleased to honor this son of South Carolina at the celebration of his one hundredth birthday, and the members join with his family and friends in congratulating him on reaching this extraordinary milestone. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, congratulate Vester Owens of Fort Worth, Texas, on the occasion of his one hundredth birthday and wish him a joyous birthday celebration and many years of continued health and happiness.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be provided to Vester Owens.
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