Full Text of SR0300 95th General Assembly
SR0300 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 |
| learn of the death of
General Wayne Downing of Peoria Heights, | 4 |
| who passed away on July 18, 2007; and
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| WHEREAS, Wayne Downing was born in Peoria on May 10, 1940; | 6 |
| his parents were Eileen M. Weiland and F. Wayne "Bud" Downing; | 7 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, Wayne Downing graduated from St. Cecilia School in | 9 |
| 1954; his father was a World War II veteran who was killed in | 10 |
| action in Germany in 1945; after graduating from Spalding High | 11 |
| School in Peoria, he was granted a competitive appointment to | 12 |
| the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he | 13 |
| graduated in June 1962 with a Bachelor's of Science degree; he | 14 |
| was commissioned a second lieutenant following the | 15 |
| commencement speech delivered by President John F. Kennedy; he | 16 |
| later earned a Master's of Business Administration degree from | 17 |
| Tulane University; and
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| WHEREAS, Wayne Downing began his 34-year career in the U.S. | 19 |
| Army by leading soldiers in his first assignment as a platoon | 20 |
| leader in Company B, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd | 21 |
| Airborne Brigade in Okinawa; he then served two years with the | 22 |
| famous 173rd in Vietnam from 1964 to 1966; he served a third |
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| year in Vietnam with the 25th Infantry Division before moving | 2 |
| on to many assignments in infantry, armor, special operations, | 3 |
| and joint units; he later served in the 1st Ranger Battalion in | 4 |
| 1975 and 1976 and commanded the 2nd Ranger Battalion from 1977 | 5 |
| to 1979; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1984, Wayne Downing was chosen to form and lead | 7 |
| the 75th Ranger Regiment; under his command, the regiment grew | 8 |
| to its highest level in 40 years by having activated an | 9 |
| additional Ranger battalion and a regimental headquarters; the | 10 |
| two previously existing Ranger battalions, the 2nd and 75th, | 11 |
| and the new addition were integrated into a cohesive unit that | 12 |
| to this day continues to work by its creed, "Rangers Lead the | 13 |
| Way"; he was widely recognized as the father of the modern | 14 |
| Rangers, demonstrating the organizational skill and technical | 15 |
| refinements during this time that would have far-reaching | 16 |
| effects on the future successes of his Rangers and of United | 17 |
| States Special Operations Forces in general; and | 18 |
| WHEREAS, Wayne Downing was appointed as the commanding | 19 |
| general of the Joint Special Operations command based at Fort | 20 |
| Bragg, North Carolina, in November 1989; in December 1989, he | 21 |
| commanded the joint Special Operations Forces in Panama during | 22 |
| Operation Just Cause; during Operation Desert Storm, he | 23 |
| commanded a joint task force of 1,200 Special Operations Forces | 24 |
| who conducted highly effective attacks in Iraq, drastically |
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| reducing the enemy's overall ballistic missile threat; in | 2 |
| August 1991, he took command of the United States Army Special | 3 |
| Operations Command at Fort Bragg, a purview which included the | 4 |
| nation's Ranger, Civil Affairs, Army Special Operations | 5 |
| Aviation, Psychological Operations, and Special Operations | 6 |
| forces; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1993, Wayne Downing was appointed to the rank | 8 |
| of four-star general and assigned as commander-in-chief of the | 9 |
| United States Special Operations Command; in this final active | 10 |
| duty command, he led the nation's 46,000 Special Operations | 11 |
| soldiers, sailors, and airmen; highly decorated by his nation | 12 |
| and many of its allies, he retired from active duty in 1996; | 13 |
| and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, Following his retirement, Wayne Downing was | 15 |
| appointed by the President to lead a 40-person task force to | 16 |
| investigate the 1996 terrorist attack on the U.S. base at | 17 |
| Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia; continuing his lifetime of | 18 |
| public service, he then served as a member of the National | 19 |
| Commission on Terrorism, known as the Bremer Commission, from | 20 |
| 1999 to 2000, where he assisted in the examination of the | 21 |
| terrorist threat to the United States and found a need for an | 22 |
| aggressive strategy on combating terrorism; in 2001, General | 23 |
| Downing served the White House as National Director and Deputy | 24 |
| National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism, where he was |
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| responsible for the close coordination between military, | 2 |
| diplomatic, intelligence, law enforcement, and financial | 3 |
| operations of our nation's war on terror and was responsible | 4 |
| for developing and executing a strategy that integrated all | 5 |
| elements of national power; and
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| WHEREAS, Wayne Downing was chairman and founder of the | 7 |
| Combating Terrorism Center at the United States Military | 8 |
| Academy at West Point, a capacity in which he conducted the | 9 |
| Terrorism Studies Seminar; as the Distinguished Chair, he | 10 |
| directed the center's research activities in combating | 11 |
| terrorism; in May 2006, the United States Military Academy | 12 |
| Association of Graduates honored General Downing with its | 13 |
| Distinguished Graduate Award in recognition of his lifetime of | 14 |
| service to the United States of America as a combat leader, | 15 |
| educator, global strategist and national security expert; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, Wayne Downing served on several boards in the | 17 |
| private sector; he was also a visiting faculty member at the | 18 |
| University of Michigan Business School, a role in which he | 19 |
| conducted seminars on leadership and transformation | 20 |
| management; and
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| WHEREAS, Wayne Downing was the recipient of many awards and | 22 |
| decorations for his meritorious service, including the Defense | 23 |
| Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the |
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| Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Silver | 2 |
| Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Defense Superior Service Medal, | 3 |
| the Legion of Merit with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Soldiers | 4 |
| Medal, the Bronze Star with V Device for Valor and five Oak | 5 |
| Leaf Clusters, the Purple Heart, the Air Medal with V Device | 6 |
| and 35 Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Army Commendation Medal with | 7 |
| V Device and three Oak Leaf Clusters; General Downing earned | 8 |
| the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Military Free Fall | 9 |
| Jumpmaster Badge, the Master Parachute Badge, the Ranger Tab, | 10 |
| and the Pathfinder Badge; he was also a commander in the French | 11 |
| Legion of Honor; and | 12 |
| WHEREAS, Wayne Downing was preceded in death by his father; | 13 |
| and his sister, Beth (Terry) Hartnett; and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, Wayne Downing is survived by his mother, Eileen | 15 |
| Downing; his wife, Kathryn Bickerman Downing; his sister, | 16 |
| Marlianne (J. Michael) Fortune; his daughters, Elizabeth | 17 |
| Downing Revell and Laura Downing; Elizabeth's husband, James | 18 |
| Revell, and their daughter, Madeline; and his stepsons and | 19 |
| daughters, Daniel and Leanne Immesoete and their children, John | 20 |
| Phillip (Jack) Immesoete and Molly Anne; Barry and Laurie Pearl | 21 |
| Cain and their children, Charles Patrick, Mary Kathryn, and | 22 |
| John Casey Cain; Kathryn Cain-Immesoete; Dr. Phillip A. | 23 |
| Immesoete II; Drew Baron Immesoete, and Morgan Christopher | 24 |
| Immesoete; and
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| WHEREAS, Wayne Downing leaves behind a personal legacy as a | 2 |
| military leader, father, and role model, worthy of the respect | 3 |
| and admiration of the citizens of the State of Illinois and our | 4 |
| nation; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | 6 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 7 |
| his family and friends, the passing of General Wayne Downing; | 8 |
| and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That we honor the memory of General Wayne Downing | 10 |
| and his willingness to serve our country with bravery and | 11 |
| distinction; and be it further | 12 |
| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 13 |
| presented to the family of General Wayne Downing as an | 14 |
| expression of our sympathy.
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