Chairman of Texas Ranger 2023, Russel Molina, promised to bring back a version of the 12-foot statue of a Texas Ranger erected in 1961 in Dallas Love Field Airport. 

“We’re putting it back up,” Molina announced for the first time during an appearance on The Sara Carter Show Podcast yesterday,  “and it’s gonna go back up in a public place.”

Molina went on to explain the importance of Texas Rangers history and argued, “You can’t have a conversation about Texas without the Rangers being in it”, referencing the 10 original Rangers who arrived with Stefen F. Austin in 1823. 

The statue, also known as “Texas Ranger of 1960”, depicts Capt. Jay Banks and the words “One Riot. One Ranger” emblazoned on the base, a tribute to the ability of every Ranger to resolve issues without assistance. 

The statue was designed by San Antonio native Waldine Tauch after its commission in 1959. 

The statue was removed from Dallas Love Field Airport Thursday, June 4, 2020 by public officials and is currently being housed in a storage facility. According to a spokesperson from the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, there are currently no plans to display the statue. The Love Field statue you fared better than many of the statues taken down and defaced in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd. In response to the viral incident, mobs in cities across America threw statues in water, toppled grave markers, and spray painted “ACAB”, (which stands for “All Cops Are B*stards”) on a statue of Union Civil War General and President, Ulysses S. Grant.

In response to these mobs, then President Donald Trump signed an executive order meant to protect these monuments from graffiti or destruction and called for long prison sentences for perpetrators via his twitter account. Stephen Miller, former Senior Advisor to President Trump, recalled the drafting of the order for Saraacarter.com writing, “ President Trump directed his staff to produce an executive order utilizing every law on the books, including those long forgotten, to ensure the maximum criminal penalty for those desecrating our national heritage and demolishing treasured memorials, statues and place of public remembrance”.

When talking about the importance of preserving Texan and American history, Molina remarked, “It’s very easy to destroy stuff. Anybody can destroy something. Let’s build something”.

In 2020, groups like the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Dallas based Moms Against Police Brutality spoke out against the statue and advocated for its removal from Love Field Airport. Moms Against Police Brutality was unable to be reached for comment. Reporters from Saraacarter.com were able to contact a spokesperson for the League of United Latin American Citizens and the inquiry was forwarded to leadership, but no response had been received at the time of publication. If a response is received, this article will be updated. 

Along with a replica of the Love Field statue, Molina also discussed another memorial set to be built that will honor Texas Rangers who gave, in Molina’s words, “the ultimate sacrifice”. Many of whom are not honored by any existing monument.

Molina was unable to give any specific time frame for the creation of either monument, but promised more information in, “The middle part of April”. 

When asked what he hopes comes of the Texas Rangers bicentennial, Molina stated, “That will be one of my proudest, biggest accomplishments is knowing that the memorial gets built and funded and it’s going to be a beautiful memorial.”

Molina continued later in reference to the Love Field Statue,

“ It made national news when it was taken down, it needs to make national news when it goes back up”.

Those interested in more information about Texas Ranger 2023 should visit the website at https://texasranger2023.org/ 

You can follow Calvin McNellie on Twitter @bigcalmc