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| 1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, It is highly fitting that the Illinois General | ||||||
| 3 | Assembly pays honor and respect to the truly great individuals | ||||||
| 4 | who have served our State and, in doing so, have made the | ||||||
| 5 | ultimate sacrifice for our safety; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Lt. Bruce A. Williams was born to Melvin and | ||||||
| 7 | Etherlyn Williams in St. Elmo on May 29, 1961, the youngest of | ||||||
| 8 | three children; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, Lt. Williams graduated from St Elmo High School | ||||||
| 10 | in 1979 and was an avid athlete, participating in football, | ||||||
| 11 | basketball, and track; he was in the National Honor Society | ||||||
| 12 | and the Industrial Art Club; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, Lt. Williams met his wife, Kathy, while stationed | ||||||
| 14 | in Pensacola, Florida and was the father of four children, | ||||||
| 15 | Keith, Wyatt, Kelsey, and Logan; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, In addition to serving in the U.S. Navy in | ||||||
| 17 | Pensacola and China Lake, Lt. Williams served in the Persian | ||||||
| 18 | Gulf during Operation Desert Storm as assistant to the | ||||||
| 19 | commander of Mideast forces; and | ||||||
| 20 | WHEREAS, Lt. Williams, Lt. Daniel F. Mondon, AET-3 Agustin | ||||||
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| 1 | Benitez-Rodriguez, AMS3 Michael S. Monaghan, and ADAN Dalyn | ||||||
| 2 | Wyatt lost their lives when their SAR HH-1N Huey struck a wire | ||||||
| 3 | and crashed in California's Sequoia National Forest on | ||||||
| 4 | February 18, 1998; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, At the time of his death, Lt. Williams was | ||||||
| 6 | survived by his parents, his wife, four children, his sister, | ||||||
| 7 | Kay Roach, and his brother, David Williams; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, A memorial service for Lt. Williams and the four | ||||||
| 9 | other service members killed was held in the All Faith Chapel | ||||||
| 10 | at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake; therefore, be it
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| 11 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 12 | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | ||||||
| 13 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate the section of | ||||||
| 14 | U.S. Route 40 from its intersection with Illinois Route 128 | ||||||
| 15 | south to its intersection with North 1800 Street (Avena Road) | ||||||
| 16 | as the "Lt. Bruce A. Williams Memorial Highway"; and be it | ||||||
| 17 | further | ||||||
| 18 | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation | ||||||
| 19 | is requested to erect at suitable locations, consistent with | ||||||
| 20 | State and federal regulations, appropriate plaques or signs | ||||||
| 21 | giving notice of the name of the "Lt. Bruce A. Williams | ||||||
| 22 | Memorial Highway"; and be it further
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| 1 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 2 | presented to the family of Lt. Williams, the City of St. Elmo, | ||||||
| 3 | and the Secretary of the Illinois Department of | ||||||
| 4 | Transportation.
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