Phillip L. Willis

Phillip L. Willis

Full Name: Phillip LaFrance Willis
Date of birth: August 2, 1918
Date of death: January 26, 1995

Terms of Service top

Chamber District Dates of Service Legislatures Party City/County Note Counties in District
H 52 Jan 11, 1949 - Aug 28, 1949 51st (1)   Democrat Kaufman / Kaufman   Kaufman
H 52 Jan 14, 1947 - Jan 11, 1949 50th   Democrat Kaufman / Kaufman   Kaufman

(1) Fred V. Meridith, in special election 11/8/1949, sworn 1/31/1950, succeeded Phillip L. Willis, resigned 8/28/1949. First session was 51st 1st Called Session. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.

Terms of Service top

House District 52
Jan 11, 1949 - Aug 28, 1949
Legislatures: 51st (1)  
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: Kaufman / Kaufman
Counties in district: Kaufman
House District 52
Jan 14, 1947 - Jan 11, 1949
Legislatures: 50th  
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: Kaufman / Kaufman
Counties in district: Kaufman

(1) Fred V. Meridith, in special election 11/8/1949, sworn 1/31/1950, succeeded Phillip L. Willis, resigned 8/28/1949. First session was 51st 1st Called Session. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.

Biographical Information top

Selected newspaper articles

Resolutions and Journal entries

Biographical Sketches

Military Service Notes

  • United States Army Air Corps, Lieutenant, World War II. Detailed description of World War II service as a pilot, especially in the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, flying one of the two 86th Observation Squadron planes: "at daybreak, December 8, 1941, Lieutenant Willis captured the United States' first prisoner of war in World War II, the surviving member of a two-man Japanese suicide submarine caught on a reef," earned Silver Star as a B-17 bomber pilot in the Battle of Midway, June 1942, and many other military awards: "the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Presidential Unit Citation with Oak Leaf Cluster, the World War II Victory Medal, the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Bronze Star, the Air Force Combat Readiness Medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, and the Pearl Harbor Commemorative Medal, along with eight theater and service medals." Resolutions - Memorial.

Other Resources

  • Obituary, Doyle Henry Willis, 6/24/2006, "[Doyle] Willis served with his brother, Phillip . . . They were the first brothers to serve together in the Texas House of Representatives." Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Photographs

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

Committee Information top

51st R.S. - 1949
Constitutional Amendments (Chair) 
Education  
Municipal and Private Corporations  
Public Printing  
State Eleemosynary and Reformatory Institutions  
50th R.S. - 1947
Education  
Investigate State Eleemosynary and Reformatory Institutions Investigation, Special  
Military and Veterans Affairs  
Penitentiaries  
Public Health  
State Eleemosynary and Reformatory Institutions  

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