Full Text of HJR0120 99th General Assembly
HJ0120eng 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, It is highly fitting that the Illinois General | 3 | | Assembly pays honor and respect to the
truly great individuals | 4 | | who have served our country; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Paul Smith died in the service of | 6 | | his country in Kandahar,
Afghanistan, in the summer of 2009; | 7 | | and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Smith retired from the United | 9 | | States Army in 2006 after tours in Kuwait,
Bosnia, Iraq, and | 10 | | Afghanistan, but he did not retire from combat; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Smith joined the Illinois National | 12 | | Guard with the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team;
and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Smith's 2009 deployment was his | 14 | | third in Afghanistan with Troop C, 2nd Battalion, 106th
Cavalry | 15 | | Regiment, providing protection for Embedded Training Teams and | 16 | | the Afghan army; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, In late August of 2009, at the age of 43, Staff | 18 | | Sergeant Smith volunteered for a mission, manning the gunner | 19 | | position atop a Humvee, fifth in a military convoy; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Smith typically rode in the first | 2 | | or last vehicle in the line; he was killed instantly when an
| 3 | | improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle; | 4 | | another soldier was killed and 2 were
seriously injured in the | 5 | | explosion; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, The device was the first of its kind to be | 7 | | floating in a roadside canal, and not on the
side of the road | 8 | | like all the others that had caused so much death and injury in | 9 | | the war in
Afghanistan; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, A small home on Jay Street in East Peoria | 11 | | currently holds a beautiful tribute to
Staff Sergeant Smith, | 12 | | including photos, a quilt, and a framed sketch by an artist who | 13 | | has
done the same for every 2,350 American fatalities in the | 14 | | war in Afghanistan to date; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Smith's dedication, heroism, and | 16 | | courage will never be forgotten
by his family, city, State, and | 17 | | country; therefore, be it
| 18 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 19 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 20 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate the section of | 21 | | Illinois Route 8 in East Peoria beginning at the
intersection | 22 | | of Arnold Avenue and ending at the intersection of Oakwood Road |
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| 1 | | as the "Staff
Sergeant Paul Smith Memorial Highway"; and be it | 2 | | further | 3 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation | 4 | | is requested to erect, at suitable
locations consistent with | 5 | | State and federal regulations, an appropriate plaque or signs | 6 | | giving
notice of the name of the "Staff Sergeant Paul Smith | 7 | | Memorial Highway"; and be it further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 9 | | presented to the family of Staff Sergeant
Smith, the Mayor of | 10 | | East Peoria, and the Secretary of the Illinois Department of
| 11 | | Transportation.
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