SR0813 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0813 LRB096 22156 GRL 40830 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Victor Hicken of Iowa City, Iowa, who passed away on April 8, 2010; and

WHEREAS, Victor Hicken was born on September 28, 1921, in Witt; he was the son of Thomas Hicken and Ann Atherton Hicken; he met Mary O'Connell while attending the United States Naval Officers Candidate School at Columbia University in New York City; the couple was married on December 28, 1943; and

WHEREAS, Victor Hicken attended public schools in Gillespie and earned his Bachelor of Education degree from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale; after his stint in the military, he attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he earned his Master of Arts degree and Ph.D. in American History; and

WHEREAS, During World War II, Victor Hicken was the officer in charge of one of the very first landing craft to hit the beach at Dog Green, the naval landing site located at the heavily fortified Vierville, France sector of Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944; his LCT(A) craft was specially designed to carry explosive elements to destroy beach obstacles before the arrival of the first United States and British infantry units; the Allied landing at this spot was portrayed in the movie "Saving Private Ryan"; he was later assigned to the Pacific theatre, where his ship endured two typhoons and he witnessed the last kamikaze attack at Okinawa; his experiences in World War II were chronicled in the book "Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944" by Joseph Balkoski; and

WHEREAS, In his 34-year tenure as professor of history at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Victor Hicken served on every major academic and administrative committee; during his several terms on the Salary Committee, WIU increased faculty salaries to match those of peer institutions; during his terms on the Faculty Senate, faculty powers were enhanced; he was also instrumental in establishing the university archives and went on to document the history of the school in "The Purple and the Gold: The Story of Western Illinois University"; he served as chair of the History Department from 1967 to 1969 and was voted Illinois Author of the Year by the Illinois Association of Teachers of English in 1976; during his last 5 years at WIU, he held the position of Distinguished University Professor, the first and only WIU professor to be awarded this honor by a faculty committee; he also taught courses at Knox College in Galesburg and Black Hawk College in Moline; and

WHEREAS, Victor Hicken served on several State committees, including those which helped to define the role of junior colleges in the state and developed and promoted the teaching of African-American history; he served on the State Historic Sites Committee and, in 1976, was elected the president of the Illinois State Historical Society; he was appointed guest lecturer at the University of Salzburg in Austria; he also conducted research for the National Education Association and for the American Academy for the Advancement of Science; and

WHEREAS, Victor Hicken is often listed among the most noted academic authors in the State of Illinois; his first major work, "Illinois in the Civil War", is considered a classic in the field, presenting one of the first and best descriptions of the Civil War in the West; "Illinois in the Civil War" was the winner of the Award of Merit by the American Association for State and Local History and has been in print for over 40 years; he was among the first to write about the critical role of the African-American soldier in the Civil War; he also wrote contributing pieces to the Chicago Tribune Sunday Magazine and numerous articles in scholarly journals on such subjects as African-American history, political trends, and organized labor issues; and

WHEREAS, Victor Hicken enjoyed art, painting, poetry, and music; he was a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan and enjoyed playing baseball in the university faculty and staff leagues; he was an avid runner and kept a regular routine of running 10 miles a day; he and his wife were members of St. George's Episcopal Church in Macomb congregation for over 50 years; after his retirement, he and his wife spent most of their time at their cabin in northern Minnesota, where he enjoyed fishing and birding; and

WHEREAS, Victor Hicken is survived by his wife of 66 years, Mary; his son, Jeffrey Price Hicken and his daughter-in-law, Mary Sarah Hicken; his granddaughter, Elizabeth Ann Hicken, his son-in-law, Daniel Bellrichard, and his great-granddaughter, Lulu Jeanette Bellrichard; his granddaughter, Molly Catherine Hicken; his grandson, Andrew Victor Hicken and his daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Anne Mackey; his son, Brian Thomas O'Connell, his daughter-in-law, Lesley O'Connell, and his grandchildren, Evan O'Connell and Rachel O'Connell; his daughter, Elizabeth Ann Christiansen, and his son-in-law, Dana Eric Christiansen; and his son, Daniel Joseph Hicken, and his daughter-in-law, Kimberly Kay Hicken; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Victor Hicken; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Victor Hicken as an expression of our sympathy.