Full Text of HR0456 99th General Assembly
HR0456 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are pleased to recognize George Klein for his | 4 | | service during the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, George Klein was born in Detroit, Michigan; he and | 6 | | his mother moved to the Chicago area when he was 2 years old; | 7 | | in February of 1938, shortly after completing high school, he | 8 | | enlisted in the United States Army National Guard and was | 9 | | assigned to a horse-drawn artillery unit; he was subsequently | 10 | | transferred to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he completed Officer | 11 | | Candidate School; afterwards, he volunteered to join the 2nd | 12 | | Ranger Battalion in April of 1943; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, After training at Camp Forrest in Tennessee with | 14 | | the 5th Ranger Battalion, George Klein and his division were | 15 | | sent overseas to undergo extensive training on the Isle of | 16 | | Wight and in Devonshire, England; on the Isle of Wight, the men | 17 | | endured rigorous training as they prepared for the cliff | 18 | | assault that they would face when landing at Pointe Du Hoc; | 19 | | during a training run of scaling the cliffs, he fell and broke | 20 | | his ankle, causing him to spend several months recuperating | 21 | | from the fracture; after recovering from his injury, he was | 22 | | then placed in the 5th Ranger Battalion and traveled with this | 23 | | unit to Ireland for additional training; in February of 1944, |
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| 1 | | he was reunited with the 2nd Ranger Battalion; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, On June 6, 1944, George Klein was onboard Landing | 3 | | Craft Assault #884 heading towards the amphibious landing at | 4 | | Pointe Du Hoc in Normandy, France; as a Second Lieutenant, he | 5 | | was the platoon leader for Fox Company; rough waves made an | 6 | | accurate landing nearly impossible for the armed forces set to | 7 | | land on the beach that morning; once at Pointe Du Hoc, the | 8 | | enemy forces began firing at full force, forcing the men to | 9 | | quickly alter the plan they had spent months preparing for; | 10 | | forced to improvise, he rushed through and began scaling the | 11 | | 100-foot cliff; once on top, he continued the battle; later | 12 | | that afternoon, he was wounded by an attack from a German | 13 | | soldier, who punctured his right leg with his bayonet; for 2 | 14 | | days, Mr. Klein had to wait to be evacuated from the | 15 | | battlefield and was only able to wrap his wounded leg in a | 16 | | bandage until he was able to receive proper medical attention; | 17 | | he was subsequently sent to recover in a field hospital in | 18 | | England for a month before he was sent back over to France to | 19 | | fight with the 5th Ranger Battalion in July of 1944; he | 20 | | continued to fight with this division until France was | 21 | | liberated on August 19, 1944; he was the recipient of 2 Purple | 22 | | Hearts for his valiant actions during the war; and
| 23 | | WHEREAS, After the war, George Klein returned home to | 24 | | Chicago, married his wife, Barbara, and raised a son and |
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| 1 | | daughter; he spent another 15 years in the United States Army | 2 | | Reserve before retiring around 1960, having attained the rank | 3 | | of Captain; he later embarked on a career in the lighting | 4 | | business through a company called Lightolier, remaining there | 5 | | until 1986; following his retirement, he continued to help | 6 | | people by volunteering through the Service Corps of Retired | 7 | | Executives for 20 years, helping small businesses succeed in | 8 | | the business world; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, George Klein was invited to the major anniversary | 10 | | celebration of the D-Day invasion on June 6, 2014, but fell ill | 11 | | and was unable to make the trip; he plans to complete the trip | 12 | | in 2015 during the 71st anniversary of the D-Day invasion; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, George Klein's patriotism and courage serves as a | 14 | | model for the members of this body and the people of the State | 15 | | of Illinois; therefore, be it
| 16 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 17 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 18 | | recognize George Klein for his service during the D-Day | 19 | | invasion on June 6, 1944 and wish him well on his trip to | 20 | | Normandy on June 6, 2015; and be it further
| 21 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 22 | | presented to George Klein as a symbol of our esteem and |
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| 1 | | respect.
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