Full Text of SR0143 98th General Assembly
SR0143 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, March 3, 2013 marks the 90th anniversary of the | 3 | | birth of Private First Class (PFC) Manuel Perez Jr.; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, PFC Manuel Perez Jr. was a World War II | 5 | | paratrooper of Mexican heritage and a resident of Chicago; he | 6 | | was a naturally gifted athlete, whose peers gave him the | 7 | | nickname of "Bullet"; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, PFC Manuel Perez Jr. was a co-founder of the | 9 | | Cyclistas Bicycle Club and a member of the Benito Juarez Social | 10 | | Club; he was also a 1941 graduate of Crane Technical High | 11 | | School and an employee of the Best Foods Company in Chicago; | 12 | | and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, PFC Manuel Perez Jr. was drafted into the United | 14 | | States Army on January 9, 1943; after completing infantry | 15 | | training, he volunteered for paratrooper training and was | 16 | | assigned to the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 11th | 17 | | Airborne Division (The Angels); he subsequently served in the | 18 | | Pacific Theater during the war; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, PFC Manuel Perez Jr. fought in the Battle of Luzon | 20 | | in the Philippines, where he accomplished a feat which is still | 21 | | unparalleled in American warfare; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, On February 13, 1945, while his company was pinned | 2 | | down by ferocious enemy fire, PFC Manuel Perez Jr. as lead | 3 | | scout for Company A, made a one-man charge against the enemy; | 4 | | his action is credited with single-handedly neutralizing 11 of | 5 | | 12 concrete Japanese pillboxes, one of which maintained | 6 | | twin-mounted 50 caliber machineguns, that held up the | 7 | | advancement of his company at Fort McKinley, which was under | 8 | | enemy control; in the course of the reduction of these enemy | 9 | | strongholds, he was able to kill at least 75 of the enemy, 18 | 10 | | in hand-to-hand combat, as described in a letter he personally | 11 | | wrote home informing family members of his heroic actions and | 12 | | in recommendation for a medal; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, On March 14, 1945, PFC Manuel Perez Jr. was shot | 14 | | by an enemy sniper while covering the withdrawal of his fellow | 15 | | Paratroopers during the Battle of Manila; for going above and | 16 | | beyond the call of duty during this action, he was recommended | 17 | | for the nation's highest military decoration for valor, the | 18 | | Medal of Honor, along with the Purple
Heart, the Combat | 19 | | Infantry Badge, and the Parachutist Badge; unfortunately, he | 20 | | would not live to receive the Medal of Honor; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, The Medal of Honor was presented to PFC Manuel | 22 | | Perez Jr.'s father, Manuel Perez, Sr. of Nuevo Laredo, | 23 | | Tamaulipas, Mexico, on the Mexican side of the International |
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| 1 | | Bridge between the United States and Mexico; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, PFC Manuel Perez Jr. along with Edward (Butch) | 3 | | O'Hare and Frank T. Witek, were the only Medal of Honor | 4 | | recipients from Chicago to be killed in action during World War | 5 | | II in the Pacific Theater and on June 22, 1946; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, PFC Manuel Perez Jr.'s childhood friends, now | 7 | | veterans themselves, with the assistance of Father Patrick | 8 | | McPolin of Saint Francis of Assisi Church in Chicago, formed | 9 | | the American Legion, Manuel Perez Jr. Post 1017; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, The United States Department of the Army dedicated | 11 | | the Manuel Perez Jr. Army Reserve Center, 221st Army Reserve | 12 | | Hospital in Oklahoma in his honor; in 1980, the City of Chicago | 13 | | dedicated the Manuel Perez Jr. Memorial Plaza at Kolin and 26th | 14 | | Streets in Little Village; in 1990, a veterans task force | 15 | | designated a newly constructed school as the Manuel Perez Jr. | 16 | | Elementary School, where Medal of Honor recipients Roy | 17 | | Benavidez and Al Lynch were joint keynote speakers at the | 18 | | dedication; therefore, be it
| 19 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL | 20 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we designate the date | 21 | | of March 14, 2013 as Manuel Perez Jr. Day in the State of | 22 | | Illinois; and be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 2 | | presented to the family of Manuel Perez Jr. as a symbol of our | 3 | | great respect and esteem.
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