Full Text of HR1300 94th General Assembly
HR1300 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the | 3 |
| State of Illinois learned with sadness of the death of | 4 |
| Lieutenant Colonel William R. Thompson, U.S.A.F (retired), on | 5 |
| Saturday, April 15, 2006; and
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| WHEREAS, William R. "Bill" Thompson was the youngest child | 7 |
| born to Rufus William Thompson and Sarah Ellen Fowler Thompson; | 8 |
| he attended Schenley High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; | 9 |
| he graduated from Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia, in | 10 |
| 1940 with a Bachelor of Science degree in business | 11 |
| administration; while at Hampton Institute, he completed | 12 |
| civilian pilot training and received his pilot's license; and
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| WHEREAS, After graduating from Hampton Institute, he moved | 14 |
| to Chicago to participate in the Coffey School of Aeronautics; | 15 |
| he met Vera Shane at the Chicago Urban League, where he | 16 |
| participated in the League's support of the Coffey School of | 17 |
| Aeronautics Program to include African Americans in the U.S. | 18 |
| Army Air Corps; Bill and Vera were married on September 21, | 19 |
| 1942, and they shared 64 years of marriage; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1941, Mr. Thompson enlisted in the U.S. Army | 21 |
| Air Corps and was assigned to Chanute Air Base in Rantoul, as | 22 |
| one of six aviation cadets of the 99th Pursuit Squadron that | 23 |
| were trained in aircraft armaments, communications, | 24 |
| engineering, and maintenance; his specialty was armaments; he | 25 |
| trained in flight along with his squadron at Molten Field in | 26 |
| Tuskegee, Alabama, training that was referred to as the | 27 |
| Tuskegee "Experiment"; and
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| WHEREAS, Upon graduation from his training, he was promoted | 29 |
| to 1st Lieutenant and assigned to B.O. Davis Jr.'s staff as the | 30 |
| Aircraft Armament Officer, helping to form the 99th Fighter | 31 |
| Squadron, which became America's first all African-American |
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| fighter squadron; the squadron was deployed overseas in World | 2 |
| War II, and during that time, he was promoted to Captain; and
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| WHEREAS, He was honorably discharged from active duty, but | 4 |
| continued his service as a member of the United States Air | 5 |
| Force Reserves; he continued learning and completed advanced | 6 |
| accounting courses at Northwestern University in 1950; he | 7 |
| received a teaching certificate from Chicago Teachers College | 8 |
| in 1954; he also completed the Academic Instructor program at | 9 |
| Air University, Maxwell Air Base, Alabama, for aviation and | 10 |
| education; for 25 years, he was a teacher and Master Teacher | 11 |
| for the Chicago Public School System, spending most of his | 12 |
| years at Donoghue Elementary School; and
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| WHEREAS, He enjoyed airplanes, renewed his pilot's | 14 |
| license, and co-owned a plane; he was a co-founder of the | 15 |
| Chicago Chapter of the American Pilot's Association; and
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| WHEREAS, He retired from the Reserves in 1976, with the | 17 |
| rank of Lieutenant Colonel; he retired from the Chicago Public | 18 |
| Schools in 1981; and
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| WHEREAS, During his retirement, he worked actively to | 20 |
| preserve the legacy and mission of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., | 21 |
| in many capacities and made many appearances in and outside of | 22 |
| the Chicago area sharing his experiences; and
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| WHEREAS, The passing of Mr. Thompson has been deeply felt | 24 |
| by many, especially his wife, Vera; his sons, William M. | 25 |
| (Wendy) and Kenneth (Carolyn); his granddaughter, Brianna; his | 26 |
| niece, Wilma J. Sewell; his many grand-nieces, nephews, and | 27 |
| their children; and numerous relatives and close friends; he | 28 |
| was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings, Frank | 29 |
| Maxwell Thompson, Zelma T. Johnson, and Alma E. Thompson; | 30 |
| therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 2 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 3 |
| we mourn the passing of Lieutenant Colonel William R. Thompson, | 4 |
| and we extend our deepest sympathy to his family, friends, and | 5 |
| all who knew and loved him; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 7 |
| presented to his family as an expression of our sincerest | 8 |
| condolences.
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