093_SR0244

 
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 1                          SENATE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, The members  of  the  Senate  of  the  State  of
 3    Illinois  were  saddened to learn of the tragic death of Spc.
 4    Brandon E. Miller, 20,  of  Savannah,  Georgia,  formerly  of
 5    Shelbyville,  who  died  Thursday, May 29, 2003 in a training
 6    exercise parachute jump in Fort Stewart, Georgia; and

 7        WHEREAS, Spc. Miller was born on September  14,  1982  in
 8    Coles  County,  the  son of Edward and Bonnie Boys Miller; he
 9    was raised by his loving mother and father, Bonnie and  Harry
10    Fitzgerald;  he  was  a  2000  graduate  of  Shelbyville High
11    School; he enlisted in the U.S. Army on his 18th birthday  in
12    the hopes of becoming an Army Ranger; and

13        WHEREAS,  Spc.  Miller  completed  basic training and the
14    infantryman's Advanced  Individual  Training  (AIT)  at  Fort
15    Benning,  Georgia; upon completion of basic training and AIT,
16    he attended the Army  basic  airborne  course  and  the  75th
17    Ranger Regiment's Ranger Indoctrination Program (RIP); he was
18    then  assigned  as  a  rifleman  and  squad automatic weapons
19    gunner to 3rd squad, 3rd Platoon Alpha  Co.,  1st  Battalion,
20    75th  Ranger  Regiment;  while  assigned  to  the Rangers, he
21    participated in  numerous  training  and  combat  operations,
22    including  Operation  Enduring  Freedom from December 2001 to
23    April 2002 and Operation Iraqi Freedom  from  March  2003  to
24    April 2003; additionally, his unit participated in the rescue
25    mission of Jessica Lynch; and

26        WHEREAS,  Spc.  Miller  was  the  recipient  of  numerous
27    awards, including the Covered Ranger Tab, Basic Parachutist's
28    Badge, the Army Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster,
29    the  National Defense Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon,
30    the Combat Infantryman's Badge, and the Expert  Infantryman's
31    Badge; and

32        WHEREAS,  Spc.  Miller's  passing  will be deeply felt by
 
                           -2-       LRB093 12192 KEF 17372 r
 1    many, especially his mother, Bonnie Powers and  husband  Jim;
 2    his  sister,  Brittany Fitzgerald; his grandparents, Carl and
 3    Lois Boys; his great-grandmother, Agnes Ground; his aunts and
 4    uncles, John and Debbie Tichenor, Mike and Janet  Ehret,  and
 5    Harold  and  Marsha  Boys;  his  cousins, Robert and Jennifer
 6    Storm  McCullough,  Carla  Storm,  Steve   and   Sarah   Boys
 7    Humphrey,  Rachel  Boys, Justin Tichenor, and Wyatt Tichenor;
 8    his father, Harry Fitzgerald; his aunts  and  uncles,  Pansle
 9    Markham,   Nancy   Linder,   Charles   Fitzgerald   and  John
10    Fitzgerald; his cousins, Debbie Bennett and Paul Bennett; his
11    natural  father,  Edward  Miller  and   wife   Naidean;   his
12    half-brother,  Rudie  Miller; his half-sister, Hannah Miller;
13    his  stepbrother  and  special  friend,  Luke   Lehman;   his
14    stepbrother, Ben Lehman; his stepsister, Sarah Stricklin; his
15    grandparents,    Arnold    and    Doris   Miller;   and   his
16    great-grandmother, Alice Wirr; and

17        WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by  his  aunt,  Maureen
18    Boys;  and  his  grandparents,  John and Helen Fitzgerald and
19    Clint and Dorothy Miller; therefore, be it

20        RESOLVED, BY  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  NINETY-THIRD  GENERAL
21    ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the death of
22    Spc.  Brandon  Miller  along with all who knew him and extend
23    our sincere condolences to his family and friends; and be  it
24    further

25        RESOLVED,  That  a  suitable  copy  of this resolution be
26    presented  to  the  family  of  Spc.  Brandon  Miller  as  an
27    expression of our deepest sympathy.