Full Text of HR0215 97th General Assembly
HR0215 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are pleased to honor United States Marine Corps | 4 | | Corporal John M. Peck for his bravery and sacrifice in defense | 5 | | of our nation; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Cpl. John Peck was born on September 13, 1985 in | 7 | | Daytona Beach, Florida; he moved to Antioch in September of | 8 | | 2002 and graduated from Antioch High School in 2004; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Cpl. John Peck enlisted in the United States | 10 | | Marine Corps in September of 2005; in September of 2005, he | 11 | | reported to Delta Company of the 1st Recruit Training | 12 | | Battalion; after completing recruit training, he reported to | 13 | | Delta Company at the School of Infantry in San Diego, | 14 | | California; he subsequently reported to 3rd Battalion, 1st | 15 | | Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division and became a Forward | 16 | | Observer for the 81mm Mortar Platoon, Weapons Company; in | 17 | | September of 2006, he was detached from Weapons Company to Lima | 18 | | Company, Weapons Platoon; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, In August 2007, while deployed in Al Anbar, Iraq, | 20 | | Cpl. John Peck's convoy took sniper fire from an elevated | 21 | | position; while trying to take shelter, his vehicle sustained | 22 | | damage from an improvised explosive device; he received a |
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| 1 | | traumatic brain injury from the explosion, for which he | 2 | | received the first of two Purple Hearts; after being shipped to | 3 | | Lundstruhl, Germany, for medical attention, he was sent back to | 4 | | the United States; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Cpl. John Peck was promoted to his current rank | 6 | | while serving with the Remain Behind Element of the 3rd | 7 | | Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division; in | 8 | | April 2009, Corporal Peck re-enlisted for an additional four | 9 | | years of service under the same MOS; during this time, he | 10 | | received a Meritorious Mast for his work at the Marine Fitness | 11 | | Center; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, In December of 2009, Cpl. John Peck decided to | 13 | | return to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment of the 1st | 14 | | Marine Division to prepare for deployment to Afghanistan; the | 15 | | 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines were eventually deployed to | 16 | | Afghanistan on April 19, 2010; on May 24, 2010, while on a | 17 | | dismounted patrol, Cpl. Peck stepped on an improvised explosive | 18 | | device; he immediately lost both of his legs and his right arm | 19 | | and received a "de-gloving injury" to his left arm; he was | 20 | | subsequently airlifted to Lundstruhl, Germany, where doctors | 21 | | performed an arterial graft to fix damage to the left artery in | 22 | | his left wrist and placed him under medical sedation; on May | 23 | | 28, 2010, as he was being airlifted to the National Naval | 24 | | Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, the arterial graft in his |
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| 1 | | left wrist burst open, causing a dangerous drop in blood | 2 | | pressure, and the flight was diverted to Newfoundland; after | 3 | | emergency surgery, he was airlifted from Newfoundland to | 4 | | Bethesda on May 30, 2010; while at Bethesda, doctors discovered | 5 | | that he had Aspergillus in all four of his extremities, his | 6 | | abdomen, and his blood, a condition that normally proves fatal; | 7 | | after numerous surgeries and transfusions, he was transferred | 8 | | to Walter Reed Army Medical Center to start undergoing physical | 9 | | therapy, occupational therapy, and aquatic therapy on August | 10 | | 10, 2010; he underwent in-patient care until February 28, 2011, | 11 | | when his mother arrived to be his non-medical assistant; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Cpl. John Peck has received numerous medals and | 13 | | commendations for his meritorious service, including two | 14 | | Purple Hearts, two Combat Action Ribbons, two Iraq Companion | 15 | | Medals, two Sea Services Metals, the Afghanistan Companion | 16 | | Medal, the Good Conduct Metal, the NATO Metal, and the | 17 | | Meritorious Mast, as well as numerous letters of appreciation | 18 | | and numerous challenge coins; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Cpl. John Peck serves as a model of hard work, | 20 | | integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of | 21 | | Illinois; therefore, be it
| 22 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 23 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that |
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| 1 | | we honor United States Marine Corps Corporal John M. Peck for | 2 | | his service and wish him the best in his future endeavors; and | 3 | | be it further
| 4 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 5 | | presented to Cpl. John Peck as a symbol of our esteem and | 6 | | respect.
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