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SENATE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate were saddened 
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to learn of the death of United States Marine Corps helicopter 
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pilot Capt. Adam Miller of Midolothian on January 22, 2004; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Capt. Miller was among the four people tragically 
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killed when a military helicopter crashed during a training 
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exercise at a Camp Pendelton, a base north of San Diego; he was 
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part of a detachment from Marine Light Attack Helicopter 
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Squadron 169, attached to the Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 
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166, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, I Marine Expeditionary 
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Force; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Capt. Miller had returned from Iraq in August and 
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was set to redeploy there in June; he had previously served in 
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Afghanistan; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Capt. Miller graduated from Oak Forest High 
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School, where he played basketball; he was a member of a group 
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of friends that his parents, Joe and Sandra Miller, dubbed "The 
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Brainiacs"; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Capt. Miller's  military career started after he 
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earned a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering in 1996 
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from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; it was at 
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college that he met Nicole, his wife of three years and an 
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Aurora native; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Upon graduation, he was accepted into the Marines' 
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officer training school in Quantico, Virginia, and became a 
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lieutenant in 1997; he earned his wings in 1998 and his mother 
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was honored to pin them on during the ceremony; and

 
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    WHEREAS, The passing of Capt. Adam Miller will be deeply 
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felt by many, especially his wife, Nicole; his parents, Joseph 
 


 






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and Sandra (nee Schmeski); his siblings,  James and Melissa; his 
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nephew,  Jacob; his grandparents, Edward and Joyce Schmeski; his 
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uncles, John Schmeski, Wade (Dawn) Schmeski and Jimmy, Gene, 
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Jerry, Tommy (Kathy), Jack, Denny (Joyce) and Mickey Miller; 
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his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Josef and Linda (nee 
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Masters) Ratschan; and his sister-in-law, Kristin (Henry) 
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Reifsnyder; therefore, be it

 

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    RESOLVED, BY THE  SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL 
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ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the tragic 
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death of Capt. Adam Miller along with all who knew and loved 
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him and extend our sincere condolences to his family and 
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friends; and be it further

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