WHEREAS, Rudolph B. Davila was born in El Paso, Texas, and was raised in Watts, California. As a young man during the Depression, he worked in vineyards and helped restore the California missions as part of the Civilian Conservation Corps; and

WHEREAS, During World War II, Rudolph B. Davila helped take out several machine gun nests and prevented a 130-man American rifle company from being slaughtered in a German ambush in Italy; and

WHEREAS, On June 21, 2000, 56 years later, Rudolph B. Davila, who was of Filipino and Spanish descent, along with 20 other Asian American World War II veterans, received a Medal of Honor from President Bill Clinton at a White House ceremony after an army panel reviewed their wartime actions and deemed them worthy of the nation’s highest commendation for battlefield bravery; and

WHEREAS, Rudolph B. Davila earned the medal for his extraordinary heroism during the offensive that broke through the German mountain strongholds surrounding the Anzio beachhead in May 1944; and

WHEREAS, When asked what made him rise to his knees with a machine gun while his fellow soldiers hugged the ground, Rudolph B. Davila said, “I knew what I was fighting for, and most of the kids didn’t,” he said, ascribing his self-assuredness to accounts he had read of Hitler. “I had this fervour about the defense of freedom, even though I couldn’t define freedom. I just knew we were going to be enslaved to Hitler if we didn’t defeat him”; and

WHEREAS, The war ended for Rudolph B. Davila in late 1944 when a tank round exploded in a tree and shrapnel ripped into his right shoulder; and

WHEREAS, Over the next six years, he underwent 13 operations on his arm and met his wife, Harriet, at a military hospital in San Francisco, California; and

WHEREAS, After the war, Rudolph B. Davila earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sociology from the University of Southern California, and spent 30 years as a teacher and counselor in the Los Angeles City School District; and

WHEREAS, Rudolph B. Davila was an excellent cook and gardener. He terraced his hillside yard and built retaining walls. He also built the family’s house in Harbor City, California, and his retirement home in Vista, California; and

WHEREAS, Rudolph B. Davila died January 26, 2002, in Vista, California, after a long illness and is survived by his children, Jeffrey, Roland, Tana, Gregg, and Jill; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes the heroism and courage demonstrated by Rudolph B. Davila during World War II and designates the westbound portion of State Highway Route 91 between Central Avenue and Figueroa Street, in the City of Carson, as the Rudolph B. Davila Memorial Freeway; and be it further

Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested to determine the cost of appropriate signs consistent with the signing requirements for the state highway system showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost, to erect those signs; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the Department of Transportation and to the author for appropriate distribution.