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SENATE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are proud to  
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memorialize the life of
Private First Class Kenneth Kays of 
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Fairfield, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, who died 
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November 29, 1991; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Private First Class Kenneth Kays was born on 
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September 22, 1949 in Mount Vernon to   John F. and Rachel Hall 
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Kays; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Pfc. Kenneth Kays graduated from Fairfield High 
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School in 1967; he was drafted into the U.S. Army during the 
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Vietnam War, where he served with Company D, 1st Battalion, 
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506th Infantry of the 101st Airborne Division as a medic; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Pfc. Kenneth Kays distinguished himself while 
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serving  near Fire Support Base Maureen at the Thua Thien 
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province of Vietnam on May 7, 1970, when he risked his life to 
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save three men in his company wounded by enemy fire during a 
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nighttime ambush, including one soldier in enemy held 
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territory; he performed these acts of bravery while under fire 
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from concentrated enemy fire and explosive charges, one of 
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which severed the lower portion of his left leg; only after his 
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fellow wounded soldiers had been treated and evacuated did he 
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allow his own wounds to be treated; Pfc. Kenneth Kays was 
 


 






SR0136
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awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in recognition of his 
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courage under fire; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Pfc. Kenneth Kays is survived by his uncle, 
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George; he was preceded in death by his parents; therefore, be 
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it

 

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    RESOLVED, BY THE  SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL 
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ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we honor the memory and 
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heroic deeds of Private First Class Kenneth Kays; and be it 
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further
 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to the family of Private First Class Kenneth Kays, as 
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an expression of  our utmost respect.