Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR0868

HR0868 LRB104 21769 MST 37449 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, U.S. troops who served in Honduras from 1981 to 1992 earned 47 Purple Hearts, 2 POW Medals, and 4 Air Medals; and

WHEREAS, U.S. troops served as advisors to the Honduran military and provided training and other exercises to strengthen the Honduran military to resist and deter Nicaraguan aggression; and

WHEREAS, Despite these feats, President Clinton and Congress awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal in 1996 to veterans who served in El Salvador from 1981 to 1992, but they did not award the same honors to the veterans who served in Honduras; and

WHEREAS, The efforts of these veterans should not remain undervalued, as their efforts and sacrifices were as crucial to preventing the spread of communism in Central America as those in El Salvador; and

WHEREAS, The service of the veterans in Honduras is certainly befitting of an Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, as U.S. troops were injured and some lost their lives due to terrorist activity and otherwise hazardous events that occurred in Honduras; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the United States Congress to award the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal to the U.S. veterans who were in Honduras from 1981 to 1992 for their service and sacrifices; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the United States Senate Majority Leader, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.