Full Text of HR1032 98th General Assembly
HR1032 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | HR1032 | | LRB098 21019 GRL 58715 r |
|
| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to honor James Pfafflin for his service to | 4 | | his country in the United States Merchant Marine from 1944 to | 5 | | 1948; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, During World War II, the ships and men of the | 7 | | United States Merchant Marine transported across the oceans of | 8 | | the world the vast quantities of war materiel, supplies, | 9 | | equipment, and troops needed to fight and win the war; the men | 10 | | of the United States Merchant Marine were civilian volunteers | 11 | | who nonetheless died proportionally in numbers that rivaled or | 12 | | exceeded any branch of the uniformed military; like the United | 13 | | States Navy Armed Guard with whom they sailed, the unsung men | 14 | | of the United States Merchant Marine made possible the Allied | 15 | | victory in World War II; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, During World War II, United States Merchant Marine | 17 | | ships faced danger from submarines, mines, armed raiders and | 18 | | destroyers, aircraft, "kamikaze", and the elements; about | 19 | | 8,300 mariners were killed at sea, 12,000 were wounded, of whom | 20 | | at least 1,100 died from their wounds, and 663 men and women | 21 | | were taken prisoner; one in 26 mariners serving aboard merchant | 22 | | ships in World War II died in the line of duty, suffering a | 23 | | greater percentage of war-related deaths than all other United |
| | | HR1032 | - 2 - | LRB098 21019 GRL 58715 r |
|
| 1 | | States services; casualties were kept secret during the war to | 2 | | keep information about their success from the enemy; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, James Pfafflin's first voyage with the United | 4 | | States Merchant Marine was on a ship that left out of San | 5 | | Francisco; the ships brought barrels of gasoline to small | 6 | | islands in the Pacific that couldn't store it, allowing planes | 7 | | that landed on the island to fuel up; the ships also brought | 8 | | blankets, food, and other supplies to people on the islands; | 9 | | and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, James Pfafflin serves as a model of hard work, | 11 | | integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of | 12 | | Illinois; therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 14 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 15 | | we honor James Pfafflin for his service to his country in the | 16 | | United States Merchant Marine; and be it further
| 17 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 18 | | presented to James Pfafflin as a symbol of our esteem and | 19 | | respect.
|
|