Full Text of HR1508 095th General Assembly
HR1508 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives are pleased to congratulate Joseph Nimee of | 4 |
| Spring Valley on the occasion of being named a Chevalier of the | 5 |
| Legion of Honor by the President of the French Republic; and
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| WHEREAS, The Legion of Honor was created by Napoleon in | 7 |
| 1802 to acknowledge services rendered to the nation of France | 8 |
| by persons of great merit; and
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| WHEREAS, Joseph Nimee volunteered for the United States | 10 |
| Army draft in 1944; after attending basic training at Camp | 11 |
| Blanding in Florida, where he was trained to serve with an | 12 |
| infantry division in the Pacific theater; in a surprise turn of | 13 |
| events, he was assigned to the 36th Infantry Division, which | 14 |
| had landed in Southern France, as a replacement; he was then | 15 |
| assigned to the 143rd Regiment in the Voges Mountains west of | 16 |
| the city of Colmar; the 143rd Regiment was assigned the task of | 17 |
| liberating a small village outside Colmar named Bennwihr and | 18 |
| safeguarding the French citizens who resided there; and
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| WHEREAS, Once in Bennwihr, Joseph Nimee was assigned the | 20 |
| task of laying phone wire from his company's command post on | 21 |
| the edge of Bennwihr to the 3rd Platoon's command post in the | 22 |
| center of the town; after the wire was cut, Mr. Nimee, along |
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| with other soldiers in his regiment, were sent to investigate; | 2 |
| while traveling to the center of the town, Mr. Nimee and his | 3 |
| fellow soldiers began to take heavy fire; after two soldiers | 4 |
| were hit with enemy fire, Mr. Nimee, at great risk to his own | 5 |
| life, ran back from out of cover and retrieved both soldiers; | 6 |
| he then proceeded to once again run from cover to provide cover | 7 |
| fire for his remaining comrades, who were able to make it to | 8 |
| safety; and
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| WHEREAS, Before arriving at the center of Bennwihr, Joseph | 10 |
| Nimee and his regiment were once again put in danger by an | 11 |
| artillery attack; with the town being re-occupied by the enemy, | 12 |
| the group's objective switched to protecting the citizens of | 13 |
| Bennwihr; taking cover in the basement of a building, they | 14 |
| found citizens hiding from the fighting and protected them for | 15 |
| the night; while taking cover, a German soldier threw a hand | 16 |
| grenade in the basement, killing a citizen and several others; | 17 |
| Mr. Nimee, severely wounded, was mistaken for dead by the | 18 |
| enemy; and
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| WHEREAS, After laying in the basement for two days, | 20 |
| severely wounded, Joseph Nimee was found by a French civilian, | 21 |
| who summoned German doctors to his aid; he then spent three | 22 |
| months in a hospital in Germany, followed by three months in a | 23 |
| prison camp at Stalag 7A in Moosberg, Germany before being | 24 |
| liberated by General Patton's forces in April of 1945; once |
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| back in the United States, he spent three years in Army | 2 |
| hospitals recovering from his wounds; and
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| WHEREAS, In recognition of his heroic actions in Bennwihr, | 4 |
| Joseph Nimee was awarded the Bronze Star; he also awarded the | 5 |
| Purple Heart for the injuries he suffered and the POW Medal for | 6 |
| his time at Stalag 7A; and
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| WHEREAS, The members of this body, along with the citizens | 8 |
| of the State of Illinois, are proud that Joseph Nimee has been | 9 |
| honored by the nation of France in such an honorable and | 10 |
| deserving manner; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 12 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 13 |
| congratulate Joseph Nimee of Spring Valley on the occasion of | 14 |
| being named a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor and wish him | 15 |
| continued success and happiness in his future endeavors; and be | 16 |
| it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 18 |
| presented to Joseph Nimee as a symbol of our great esteem and | 19 |
| respect.
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