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ENROLLED
2026 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 53
BY REPRESENTATIVE BAYHAM
A RESOLUTION
To commend decorated veteran and centenarian James "Jim" Bollich for his military service
in the United States Army Air Corps on the occasion of Louisiana America 250.
WHEREAS, James "Jim" Bollich was born on August 15, 1921, near Eunice,
Louisiana; he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1940 and was stationed in the
Philippines three weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Bollich fought in the Battle of Bataan on the Bataan Peninsula in
Central Luzon, Philippines, in 1942; following the fall of Bataan, he and his fellow troops
endured the infamous Bataan Death March, a sixty-five mile forced march in brutal
conditions that resulted in the deaths of roughly twelve thousand American and Filipino
soldiers; and
WHEREAS, after the march, Mr. Bollich was held for nearly four and a half years
as a prisoner of war in Manchuria; he was released after the camp was liberated on his
twenty-fourth birthday on August 15, 1945; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Bollich is a recipient of the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the
Congressional Gold Medal, and numerous other military honors; he is a Fulbright Scholar
and the author of twelve books, including Bataan Death March: A Soldier's Story; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Bollich is currently one hundred four years old and resides in
Lafayette, Louisiana; he is believed to be one of the last surviving United States veterans
who endured the Bataan Death March; and
WHEREAS, James "Jim" Bollich is a true American hero who is most deserving of
the highest recognition for the inspiring degree of perseverance he displayed while defending
the country's freedoms.
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HR NO. 53 ENROLLED
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend decorated veteran and centenarian James
"Jim" Bollich for his military service in the United States Army Air Corps on the occasion
of Louisiana America 250 and does hereby express enduring appreciation to Mr. Bollich and
all American veterans for their unrelenting dedication to the preservation of liberty.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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