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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to commend Sgt. Allen James Lynch on his | ||||||
| 4 | military service and on his dedication to serving the veterans | ||||||
| 5 | of the State of Illinois; and | ||||||
| 6 | WHEREAS, Allen James Lynch was born in Chicago on October | ||||||
| 7 | 28, 1945 and grew up in Indiana; he enlisted in the United | ||||||
| 8 | States Army in 1964 and served until 1969 during the Vietnam | ||||||
| 9 | War as a specialist four with Company D, 1st Battalion, 12th | ||||||
| 10 | Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile); and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, Allen James Lynch, while serving with his unit on | ||||||
| 12 | December 15, 1967, was near My An in the Binh Dinh Province of | ||||||
| 13 | Vietnam when he bravely rescued three wounded soldiers at | ||||||
| 14 | great risk to his own life and stayed behind with them when | ||||||
| 15 | everyone else withdrew; he protected the men and | ||||||
| 16 | single-handedly defended them against enemy attack for hours | ||||||
| 17 | before being able to bring them to safety; and | ||||||
| 18 | WHEREAS, Allen James Lynch, as a result of his heroism | ||||||
| 19 | above and beyond the call of duty during the fight, was | ||||||
| 20 | promoted to sergeant and awarded the Medal of Honor by | ||||||
| 21 | President Richard Nixon in 1970; and | ||||||
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Allen James Lynch, following the war, settled in | ||||||
| 2 | Gurnee and worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs, | ||||||
| 3 | where he advocated for increased benefits for disabled | ||||||
| 4 | veterans, and served as chief of the Veterans Rights Bureau | ||||||
| 5 | for the Illinois Attorney General's office until his | ||||||
| 6 | retirement in 2005; and | ||||||
| 7 | WHEREAS, Allen James Lynch has spent time volunteering for | ||||||
| 8 | the Vietnam Veterans of America and serves as the liaison for | ||||||
| 9 | the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, providing outreach | ||||||
| 10 | and speaking at military-related events; and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, Allen James Lynch is a published author and wrote | ||||||
| 12 | about his experiences in a memoir entitled Zero to Hero, which | ||||||
| 13 | was published in 2019; therefore, be it | ||||||
| 14 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 15 | HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 16 | we commend Sgt. Allen James Lynch on his military service and | ||||||
| 17 | express our deepest gratitude on his dedication to serving our | ||||||
| 18 | nation and the veterans of the State of Illinois; and be it | ||||||
| 19 | further | ||||||
| 20 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 21 | presented to Sgt. Allen James Lynch as a symbol that his | ||||||
| 22 | bravery in saving the lives of those three men will never be | ||||||
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| 1 | forgotten. | ||||||