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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Vietnam veteran Herschel Luckinbill led efforts | ||||||
3 | to bring the Vietnam Moving Wall back to Aurora for the first | ||||||
4 | time in 24 years; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Herschel Luckinbill is known for accompanying | ||||||
6 | World War II veterans on Honor Flights to Washington D.C. and | ||||||
7 | leading numerous other veterans' activities; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Herschel Luckinbill, who served on the first | ||||||
9 | American ship to receive gunfire during the Vietnam War, has | ||||||
10 | said that having the wall come to Aurora means everything for | ||||||
11 | the local veterans; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Herschel Luckinbill led the efforts to bring the | ||||||
13 | wall to Aurora as a way to honor his fallen shipmates; and
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14 | WHEREAS, The Moving Wall is engraved with the names of | ||||||
15 | 58,282 who perished in the Vietnam War or are still unaccounted | ||||||
16 | for (Prisoners of War and Missing in Action); the 254-foot wall | ||||||
17 | is a 3/5 size mobile replica of the Washington D.C. Vietnam | ||||||
18 | Veterans Memorial; and
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19 | WHEREAS, The Moving Wall was conceived and built by three | ||||||
20 | California-based Vietnam vets who wished to publicly share the |
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1 | emotional power and experience that one of them felt during the | ||||||
2 | 1982 dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; and
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3 | WHEREAS, Herschel Luckinbill arranged for the Moving Wall | ||||||
4 | to be on display at the West Aurora High School practice soccer | ||||||
5 | fields from November 7 to November 11, 2013; and
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6 | WHEREAS, The Moving Wall was escorted into the West Aurora | ||||||
7 | High School soccer facilities by more than 200 motorcycle | ||||||
8 | riding veterans and volunteers on November 7, 2013; the opening | ||||||
9 | ceremonies for the Moving Wall began on November 8, 2013 at 10 | ||||||
10 | A.M.; and
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11 | WHEREAS, A ceremony was held at the Moving Wall on November | ||||||
12 | 9, 2013 to recognize and honor families who have lost loved | ||||||
13 | ones in war; a non-denominational healing service was held on | ||||||
14 | November 10, 2013 at the Moving Wall; and
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15 | WHEREAS, The Aurora Veterans Day Parade made a stop at the | ||||||
16 | Moving Wall during its route on November 11, 2013; a wreath | ||||||
17 | laying ceremony for all branches of the military was held at | ||||||
18 | the Moving Wall before the closing ceremonies at dusk on | ||||||
19 | November 11, 2013; and | ||||||
20 | WHEREAS, Two recipients of the Medal of Honor were present | ||||||
21 | and spoke during the Moving Wall ceremonies; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Volunteers filled a nearby field with over 2000 | ||||||
2 | American flags, deemed the "healing field"; and
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3 | WHEREAS, Numerous veterans visited the Moving Wall in | ||||||
4 | remembrance of fallen colleagues and friends and were | ||||||
5 | noticeably emotional during the 5-day event; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Between 100,000 and 200,000 people visited the | ||||||
7 | Moving Wall during the 5-day memorial; more than 1,000 | ||||||
8 | volunteers worked 45 different shifts to make the event | ||||||
9 | possible; therefore, be it
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10 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
11 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
12 | we honor Herschel Luckinbill for his service to our country and | ||||||
13 | recognize his continued work to recognize the service and | ||||||
14 | sacrifices of Illinois veterans; and be it further
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15 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
16 | presented to Herschel Luckinbill as an expression of our esteem | ||||||
17 | and respect.
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