SR0264

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SENATE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to  
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learn of the death of
U.S. Army Captain Joshua E. Steele of 
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North Henderson, who was killed in action near Panjway, 
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Afghanistan on June 17, 2007; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Captain Joshua Steele was born on July 8, 1980, in 
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Galesburg; his parents were R. Philip and Paula Weir Steele; 
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and

 
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    WHEREAS, Captain Joshua Steele was raised on a farm near 
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North Henderson and attended Immaculate Conception Parochial 
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School in Monmouth and Alexis High School; after graduating 
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from high school at the Missouri Military Academy in Mexico, 
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Missouri in 1998, he received his degree in geological 
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engineering from the University of Missouri at Rolla magna cum 
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laude in 2002, where he was a member of the Pi Kappa Phi 
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Fraternity and the Society of Military Engineers; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Captain Joshua Steele was commissioned in the Army 
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in 2002 and was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri with 
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the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division Transition Team; he was 
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assigned to the 5th  and later the 35th Engineering Battalion; 
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he was previously deployed in Iraq and the Republic of Georgia, 
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before being sent to Afghanistan in January 2007; and

 
 


 






SR0264
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    WHEREAS, Captain Joshua Steele enjoyed geological 
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pursuits, as well as raising and showing swine, horseback 
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riding, hunting, and life on the farm; he was a member of the 
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4-H and FFA in Alexis, the  Civil Air Patrol in Galesburg; and 
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he was vice president of his junior class in high school; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Captain Joshua Steele will be remembered by all 
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who knew him as a bright and industrious young man; therefore, 
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be 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 mourn, along with 
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his family and friends, the passing of U.S. Army Captain Joshua 
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E. Steele; and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That we honor the memory of U.S. Army Captain 
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Joshua E. Steele and  his willingness to serve our country, 
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which led to him making  the ultimate sacrifice; 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 U.S. Army Captain Joshua E. Steele 
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as an expression of our sympathy.