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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives wish to congratulate and thank retired Navy
4 Captain Robert W. Duncan on serving as grandmaster of this
5 year's Marion Main Street Armed Forces Day Patriotic Parade;
6 and
 
7     WHEREAS, Robert Duncan and his wife Evelyn, both of Marion,
8 have been married 61 years and have two children, Steven Duncan
9 and Janice Magruder; and two grandchildren, David and Heather
10 Magruder; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Robert Duncan was a Captain in the United States
12 Navy serving as one of the original members of the "Fighting
13 Five" of the USS Yorktown CV-10 during World War II; he first
14 started serving his country in 1942 with the U.S. Navy; and
 
15     WHEREAS, Captain Duncan was the first pilot from the
16 Yorktown to become an Ace and the first U.S. Navy fighter pilot
17 to destroy an enemy aircraft with the new F6F Grumman Hellcat
18 fighter plane; and
 
19     WHEREAS, Captain Duncan was recommended to receive the Navy
20 Cross, the Navy's highest honor, by famed Navy Admiral C.W.
21 Nimitz for valor in combat on February 16, 1944, against
22 Japanese forces at Truk in the South Pacific; and
 
23     WHEREAS, As Admiral Nimitz's recommendation was overlooked
24 for many years, Captain Duncan was finally honored for his
25 bravery in combat in February of 2003, when U.S. Representative
26 Jerry Costello presented Captain Duncan with his Navy Cross;
27 and
 
28     WHEREAS, In addition to the Navy Cross, Captain Duncan
29 received numerous military honors, including two Distinguished

 

 

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1 Flying Crosses, eight air medals, and a presidential unit
2 citation with five stars, among others; and
 
3     WHEREAS, His post World War II duties include service from
4 the USS Boxer CV-21 during the conflict in Korea and Commander
5 of the Eighth Navy Recruiting Area in San Francisco; he retired
6 in 1966; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Captain Duncan also served as Chairman of the
8 Williamson County Airport Board for more than 21 years and as a
9 past president of the Illinois Airports Association; and
 
10     WHEREAS, The State of Illinois and the United States of
11 America is a better place, enjoying the rights and liberties
12 defended by the heroic efforts of Captain Duncan; therefore, be
13 it
 
14     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
15 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
16 congratulate Captain Robert W. Duncan on serving as the 2004
17 Marion Main Street Armed Forces Day Patriotic Parade
18 grandmaster and on receiving his long overdue Navy Cross for
19 his bravery in combat; and be it further
 
20     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
21 presented to Captain Duncan, as well as the Military Aviation
22 Hall of Fame of Illinois, as a token of our deepest and most
23 sincere thanks to a man who has bravely and selflessly served
24 his country and community.