SR0936 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0936 LRB101 17306 LAW 66711 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Private First Class Miguel A. Villalon of Joliet, who passed away in Afghanistan on January 11, 2020; and

WHEREAS, PFC Villalon was raised in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas; he attended school in Brownsville, Texas from 2004 to 2013; he attended East Aurora High School, where he became captain of the JROTC drill team; and

WHEREAS, PFC Villalon joined the U.S. Army in 2018; he was assigned to the 307th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and

WHEREAS, PFC Villalon was killed after an improvised explosive device struck his vehicle in Kandahar province, Afghanistan; he was participating in Operation Freedom's Sentinel, a U.S. training and counterterrorism mission; he was on his first combat deployment and was awarded a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal; and

WHEREAS, PFC Villalon was remembered by friends as being funny and peppy; he was also noted for being a great singer, someone who always made time for others, and a peacemaker; and

WHEREAS, PFC Villalon is survived by his mother and his father; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Private First Class Miguel A. Villalon and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of PFC Miguel Villalon as an expression of our deepest sympathy.