093_SR0225

 
                                     LRB093 12274 KEF 18200 r

 1                          SENATE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, A West Aurora High School  graduate  who  joined
 3    the  Marines  to  play in its drum and bugle corps was killed
 4    May 19, 2003 when his helicopter crashed  during  a  resupply
 5    mission in central Iraq; and

 6        WHEREAS,  First Lt. Timothy Ryan, who graduated from West
 7    High  in  1991,  was  one  of four Marines aboard a CH-46 Sea
 8    Knight helicopter when it went down in a canal about 60 miles
 9    south of Baghdad; and

10        WHEREAS,  There were no survivors,  and  a  fifth  Marine
11    drowned trying to rescue the crew; and

12        WHEREAS, Lt. Ryan's path to becoming a Marine officer was
13    an  unlikely  one;  he  enlisted  in  1997,  just weeks after
14    graduating from Illinois State University with  a  degree  in
15    music  and  days  after  marrying  his wife Michelle;  he was
16    accepted to play percussion in the USMC Drum &  Bugle  Corps,
17    an  elite 80-musician ensemble of fully commissioned Marines,
18    and soon began traveling  extensively,  playing  at  military
19    functions across the United States and in Europe; and

20        WHEREAS, Lt. Ryan soon discovered, however, that his true
21    passion  was  for  flying  helicopters; he graduated from the
22    Marine Corps Officer Candidate School at Quantico,  Virginia,
23    and  "got  his  wings"  at  Whiting  Airfield near Pensacola,
24    Florida; and

25        WHEREAS, At West High, Lt. Ryan made friends  easily  and
26    spent time playing in the marching band and building sets for
27    school plays; and

28        WHEREAS,  Lt.  Ryan's passing will be deeply felt by many
29    family and friends; therefore, be it

30        RESOLVED, BY  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  NINETY-THIRD  GENERAL
 
                           -2-       LRB093 12274 KEF 18200 r
 1    ASSEMBLY  OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing
 2    of First Lt. Timothy Ryan along with all who knew  and  loved
 3    him  and  extend  our  sincere  condolences  to  his  family,
 4    friends, and community; and be it further

 5        RESOLVED,  That  a  suitable  copy  of this resolution be
 6    presented to the family of  First  Lt.  Timothy  Ryan  as  an
 7    expression of our deepest sympathy.