Full Text of HR0018 098th General Assembly
HR0018 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened
to learn of the death of Army | 4 | | Specialist Samuel T. Watts, who gave his life for his country
| 5 | | while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan on | 6 | | May 19, 2012; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Army Specialist Watts was born on August 14, 1991, | 8 | | in Elmhurst to
Thomas and Susan Watts; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Even as a little boy, Army Specialist Watts hoped | 10 | | to serve
his country as a soldier; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Army Specialist Watts attended elementary and | 12 | | middle
school at St. John Lutheran School in Wheaton, where he | 13 | | also attended church with his
family and graduated from Wheaton | 14 | | North High School in 2010; he enlisted in the United
States | 15 | | Army in the spring of 2010, while still in high school, | 16 | | completing his basic
training at Fort Benning, Georgia, in July | 17 | | 2010 and joining the 508th Infantry Regiment in
October 2010; | 18 | | and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Amy Specialist Watts was a member of Wheaton North
| 20 | | freshman football and volleyball teams, was an avid BMX rider, | 21 | | attended the fire science
and paramedic program at the |
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| 1 | | Technology Center of DuPage in Addison, and earned a
| 2 | | prestigious award for his patriotism at Wheaton North's senior | 3 | | honors assembly; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Army Specialist Watts trained as an infantryman | 5 | | and
paratrooper at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was deployed to | 6 | | Afghanistan on February 25,
2012, with the 82nd Airborne | 7 | | Division; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Army Specialist Watts served his country with | 9 | | pride as a
member of the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute | 10 | | Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat
Team, 82nd Airborne | 11 | | Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, The 82nd Airborne Division of the United States | 13 | | Army is an elite
modular airborne infantry division that was | 14 | | constituted in the National Army as the 82nd
Division on August | 15 | | 5th, 1917, and was organized on August 25th, 1917, at Camp | 16 | | Gordon,
Georgia; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Army Specialist Watts was on foot patrol in the | 18 | | Zharay
district of Kandahar province of Afghanistan on April | 19 | | 25, 2012, when an improvised
explosive device detonated, | 20 | | inflicting devastating wounds upon him; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, On May 16th, 2012, Army Specialist Watts was |
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| 1 | | awarded
the prestigious Purple Heart in a bedside ceremony, and | 2 | | his father, Thomas, was proud to
have had the honor and | 3 | | privilege of pinning the medal on his son; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Army Specialist Watts was the recipient of the | 5 | | Bronze
Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Army Good | 6 | | Conduct Medal, National
Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan | 7 | | Campaign Medal with Bronze Service Star, Global
War on | 8 | | Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service | 9 | | Ribbon,
NATO Medal, Combat Infantryman's Badge, Expert | 10 | | Marksman Badge, and Parachutist
Badge; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Army Specialist Watts was included as one of the | 12 | | fallen
heroes honored at the DuPage County Memorial Day | 13 | | Ceremony on Sunday, May 27th,
2012; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Friends and family will always remember Army | 15 | | Specialist Watts as wanting to serve his country and help | 16 | | others and for his generous spirit; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Friends describe Army Specialist Watts as loyal, | 18 | | kind,
noble, a fierce friend, funny, a truly genuine person, | 19 | | the world's greatest, a fighter, a true
hero, an adventurous, | 20 | | fun-loving, and truly fearless person, and a guy you wanted on
| 21 | | your team; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Amy Specialist Watts planned to become a fire
| 2 | | fighter/paramedic when he returned from Afghanistan; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Army Specialist Watts will be fiercely
missed by | 4 | | his
loving sisters, Sarah and Abigail; his loyal brother, | 5 | | Andrew; his adoring parents, Thomas
and Susan; and his caring | 6 | | grandparents, Ruth Watts and Paul J. Keehn; therefore, be it
| 7 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 8 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 9 | | we mourn,
along with his family and friends, the passing of | 10 | | Army Specialist Samuel T. Watts; and be it further
| 11 | | RESOLVED, That we honor the memory of Army Specialist | 12 | | Watts,
his patriotism, and his willingness to serve his | 13 | | country, which led him to making the
ultimate sacrifice; and be | 14 | | it further | 15 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 16 | | presented to the family of
Army Specialist Watts as a symbol of | 17 | | our sincere sympathy.
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