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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The Korean War began on June 25, 1950 and raged | ||||||
| 3 | for three bloody years; one and a half million United States | ||||||
| 4 | soldiers, including thousands from Illinois, answered the call | ||||||
| 5 | to arms during the war; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, 54,246 United States citizens, including 1,754 | ||||||
| 7 | Illinois residents, lost their lives while fighting in Korea; | ||||||
| 8 | and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, A total of 103,284 United States soldiers were | ||||||
| 10 | wounded during the fighting in Korea, 7,140 taken prisoner, and | ||||||
| 11 | 8,177 were listed as missing in action; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, A total of 131 Medals of Honor were received for | ||||||
| 13 | exceptional bravery and courage by United States soldiers | ||||||
| 14 | fighting in Korea, 93 posthumously, including eight Medals of | ||||||
| 15 | Honor received by soldiers from Illinois, six posthumously; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, The service and sacrifice of United States | ||||||
| 17 | soldiers during the Korean War is equal to the service and | ||||||
| 18 | sacrifice of United States soldiers in any of our nation's wars | ||||||
| 19 | throughout our history; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, The number of living Korean War veterans continues | ||||||
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| 1 | to dwindle each year, depriving those deceased warriors the | ||||||
| 2 | opportunity to share their experiences and to accept the thanks | ||||||
| 3 | for their service from a grateful nation; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, The Korean War is often referred to as "The | ||||||
| 5 | Forgotten War" because it fell between the conclusion of World | ||||||
| 6 | War II and the beginning of the Vietnam War, and because the | ||||||
| 7 | shaky truce that ended open hostilities in 1953 left the | ||||||
| 8 | conflict without official closure; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, The 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean | ||||||
| 10 | War occurs on June 25, 2010; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is commemorating the 60th | ||||||
| 12 | anniversary of the Korean War by supplying information each | ||||||
| 13 | month about the State's involvement in the conflict, starting | ||||||
| 14 | in June 2010 and running through July 2013, to the State's | ||||||
| 15 | newspapers, radio and TV stations; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, the | ||||||
| 17 | Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, the Illinois Korean | ||||||
| 18 | Memorial Association, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential | ||||||
| 19 | Library and Museum are sponsoring "Illinois Remembers the | ||||||
| 20 | Forgotten War" along with media partners the Illinois Press | ||||||
| 21 | Association and the Illinois Broadcasters Association, to | ||||||
| 22 | ensure that "The Forgotten War" is forgotten no more in | ||||||
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| 1 | Illinois; therefore, be it
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| 2 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 3 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we designate June 25, | ||||||
| 4 | 2010 to be Korean War Remembrance Day in the State of Illinois, | ||||||
| 5 | and hereby encourage all Illinois residents to remember and | ||||||
| 6 | appreciate the brave men and women who served honorably and | ||||||
| 7 | paid the ultimate price defending our freedom during the Korean | ||||||
| 8 | War, to ensure that this generation, and those to follow, never | ||||||
| 9 | forget these heroes and the values for which they fought.
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