HR1312

LRB093 24276 CSA 54547 r






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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, U.S. Marine Corporal Matthew Wyatt of Millstadt 
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died December 3, 2004 while serving his country; he was killed 
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when a car bomb exploded while he was patrolling Trebil, a town 
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on the Iraq-Jordan border; he was awarded the Purple Heart; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Matthew's death marks the first military casualty 
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for Millstadt since World War II; and

 
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    WHEREAS, He is the son of Verlene and U.S. Marine Gunnery 
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Sergeant Alan Wyatt; and

 
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    WHEREAS, He was born and raised in Millstadt, and was a 
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1997 graduate of Millstadt Consolidated School and a 2001 
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graduate of Belleville West High School where he was a 
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defensive back on the football team; he was known as an 
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outgoing and hard-working young man; and

 
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    WHEREAS, After graduating from high school, he enlisted in 
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the Marine Corps for a five-year term that would have ended in 
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2006; since August 2002, he had been based at Camp Lejeune, 
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North Carolina; he left for his first tour of duty in Iraq on 
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September 14, 2004; and

 
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    WHEREAS, He will be remembered as a small-town boy with big 
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ideas; as a boy, Matthew wanted one thing in life more than 
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anything else - to become a Hollywood movie star; later, his 
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dream was to play college football for the University of 
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Michigan - then it was to become a Marine; a movie aficionado, 
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he was the funnyman at family gatherings; every time the family 
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got together, he would round up his cousins and perform skits; 
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he also took part in all the church and school plays; he wanted 
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to move to California to be an actor, but he knew Millstadt was 
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home; and

 
 


 






HR1312
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LRB093 24276 CSA 54547 r




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    WHEREAS, His bravery in combat and willingness to serve his 
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country will never be forgotten by a grateful State and nation; 
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it is because of true heroes like Matthew that each U.S. 
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citizen has the freedoms they enjoy; and

 
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    WHEREAS, He is survived by his parents; therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 
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together with his family, friends, fellow members of the United 
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States armed forces, and the citizens of this State and this 
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great nation, we mourn the passing of U.S. Marine Corporal 
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Matthew Wyatt and we extend to his family our sincerest 
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condolences; and be it further

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