Full Text of HR0353 95th General Assembly
HR0353 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HR0353 |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Kenneth Kays grew up in the southern Illinois | 3 |
| community of Fairfield; and
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| WHEREAS, Ken Kays was drafted and joined the Army in the | 5 |
| fall of 1969 as a medic in the 101st Airborne Division; and
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| WHEREAS, On May 6, 1970, medic Ken Kays joined up with the | 7 |
| 2nd Platoon, Delta Company who had only the day before arrived | 8 |
| in Maureen to fighting which resulted in the loss of the | 9 |
| Platoon's medic, thus requiring medic Ken Kays to replace him; | 10 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, On May 6th, the 2nd Platoon spent the day | 12 |
| searching through enemy bunkers further down the hill from Fire | 13 |
| Support Base Maureen; and
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| WHEREAS, The fateful decision was made to have the 2nd | 15 |
| Platoon venture back up the hill to make camp for the night in | 16 |
| what was thought to have been a "safer" position; this decision | 17 |
| to make camp up near FSB Maureen resulted in the 2nd Platoon | 18 |
| being separated from the rest of Delta Company; and
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| WHEREAS, The 2nd Platoon, consisting of 21 men, including | 20 |
| medic Ken Kays, was now stretched over a large area, leaving |
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HR0353 |
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| dangerous gaps, prepared to get some much needed rest; and
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| WHEREAS, In the early morning hours of May 7th, the North | 3 |
| Vietnamese Army infiltrated the camp and set satchel charges | 4 |
| around the camp prior to opening fire with their AK-47s; and
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| WHEREAS, The rest of Delta Company heard the explosions and | 6 |
| gunfire and began to make their way back up the ridge, but was | 7 |
| ambushed and pushed back to their original position thus | 8 |
| leaving the 2nd Platoon to fight alone; and
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| WHEREAS, Upon hearing his fellow soldiers screaming in | 10 |
| pain, medic Ken Kays bolted into action; and while running | 11 |
| across the perimeter to help a wounded soldier, a satchel | 12 |
| charge was activated at medic Ken Kays' feet, propelling him | 13 |
| several feet in the air; and
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| WHEREAS, Undeterred from his mission, medic Ken Kays rose | 15 |
| and started to run again only to discover he had lost the lower | 16 |
| portion of his left leg. He then applied a tourniquet to his | 17 |
| injured leg and continued to hop and crawl his way around the | 18 |
| perimeter to give aid to wounded soldiers; and
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| WHEREAS, Medic Ken Kays, despite his own injury, continued | 20 |
| to seek out and move wounded soldiers to safety; and partially | 21 |
| due to his actions only 7 of the 21 men died at FSB Maureen; and
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| WHEREAS, In a platoon of only 21 men, the four highest | 2 |
| awards for heroism would be given for their actions on that day | 3 |
| thus suggesting the intensity of the struggle that early | 4 |
| morning at Maureen; and
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| WHEREAS, These awards were: the Congressional Medal of | 6 |
| Honor to Kenneth Kays, the Distinguished Service Cross to | 7 |
| Kenneth David, the Silver Star to Greg Phillips, and the Bronze | 8 |
| Star with "V" device to Steve "Greek" Avgerinos; and there were | 9 |
| more than a dozen Purple Hearts awarded for wounds received in | 10 |
| the battle; and
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| WHEREAS, Upon daybreak, Delta Company ventured back up the | 12 |
| ridge to re-join the 2nd Platoon, a soldier from the company | 13 |
| found a half-conscious medic Ken Kays laying on top of two | 14 |
| wounded soldiers in an attempt to offer protection; and
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| WHEREAS, Although hovering near death from loss of blood, | 16 |
| medic Ken Kays refused to be placed on a helicopter until the | 17 |
| two other severely wounded men were placed there too; and
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| WHEREAS, Although medic Ken Kays actions that day were | 19 |
| rewarded with a military honor, he had an antiwar stance that | 20 |
| often led to public scrutiny right up until his death in 1991; | 21 |
| therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 2 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 3 |
| recognize the heroic actions of medic Ken Kays during his | 4 |
| service in the Vietnam War; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 6 |
| presented to the City of Fairfield to be displayed in the local | 7 |
| museum.
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