Full Text of HR0935 99th General Assembly
HR0935 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the | 4 | | death of Private First Class Florentino John Santana in Vietnam | 5 | | on September 18, 1966; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, During the summer of 1966, the North Vietnamese | 7 | | Army's (NVA) 324B Division had infiltrated south of the | 8 | | Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) with the clear intention of setting up | 9 | | a major presence in northern Quang Tri Province; the NVA 341st | 10 | | Division was positioned within and north of the DMZ and | 11 | | prepared to support the 324B Division and/or exploit | 12 | | opportunities arising from the 324B's operations; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The Commanding General of the Third Marine | 14 | | Amphibious Force, the senior United States commander in | 15 | | northern South Vietnam, initiated Operation HASTINGS aimed at | 16 | | discouraging the 324B Division and forcing it back into the DMZ | 17 | | (at the time, U.S. forces could not enter into the DMZ - it was | 18 | | an NVA sanctuary); heavy fighting continued through July of | 19 | | 1966, particularly around the "Rockpile" between Khe Sanh and | 20 | | Camp Carroll. HASTINGS ended, and a series of recon-in-force | 21 | | operations - termed Operation PRAIRIE - began on August 3, | 22 | | 1966; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Operation DECKHOUSE IV was conducted by the 7th | 2 | | Fleet's Special Landing Force Bravo (Battalion Landing Team | 3 | | 1/26) as an adjunct to Operation PRAIRIE; BLT 1/26's area was | 4 | | about 8 miles northeast of Dong Ha, and the operation began | 5 | | with an amphibious landing and a heliborne landing some six | 6 | | miles inland west of Highway 1; at about 1:30pm on September | 7 | | 15, 1966, a reconnaissance team made contact with an NVA | 8 | | company; that contact was the first in what became 10 days of | 9 | | heavy fighting for BLT 1/26's Marines and sailors; although | 10 | | DECKHOUSE IV officially ended on the 18th, BLT 1/26 stayed in | 11 | | support of PRAIRIE until the 25th; the operation claimed at | 12 | | least 200 NVA killed at a cost of 37 Marines and sailors killed | 13 | | in action and another 167 wounded; Pfc. Santana was among those | 14 | | killed in action; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Pfc. Santana was born in Mission Hidalgo County, | 16 | | Texas on June 20, 1947 to Mr. and Mrs. Baldemar Santana; he had | 17 | | 2 sisters, Mary and Alma; he attended Elgin High School and | 18 | | joined the United States Marines in August of 1965; he and his | 19 | | wife, Donna Lou Dewis, had one daughter, Pauline Katherine; | 20 | | therefore, be it
| 21 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 22 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 23 | | commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Private First | 24 | | Class Florentino John Santana in Vietnam on September 18, 1966; |
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| 1 | | and be it further
| 2 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 3 | | presented to the family of Pfc. Santana as an expression of our | 4 | | esteem and respect.
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