Full Text of SR0620 094th General Assembly
SR0620 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois | 3 |
| learned with regret of the death of Dalmain H. "Dal" Estes of | 4 |
| Pontiac on Saturday, December 24, 2005; and
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| WHEREAS, He was born December 21, 1917, in Herculaneum, | 6 |
| Missouri, to Margaret "Peggy" (Craig) Estes and Howard Estes; | 7 |
| he married Mildred Metzger on May 31, 1941, and together they | 8 |
| had one child, David Estes; she preceded him in death; he | 9 |
| married Elizabeth "Betty" Mertes on November 24, 1951, in | 10 |
| Chicago; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Estes retired from his position as general | 12 |
| manager of hotels, restaurants, and institutions at Swift and | 13 |
| Company in Chicago in 1976 after 40 years; he then worked for | 14 |
| the State of Illinois, the Livingston County Broadcasters, and | 15 |
| Wal-Mart in Pontiac, finally retiring at the age of 77; and
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| WHEREAS, He entered the U.S. Army from Lemay, Missouri, in | 17 |
| December 1942 and served until March 1946; on D-Day, he was a | 18 |
| sergeant with the 467th Antiaircraft Unit, Automatic Weapons | 19 |
| Battalion, and landed in the second wave on Omaha Beach at | 20 |
| Normandy, France, participating in the largest invasion in | 21 |
| history; he and his squad took out a key German bunker that | 22 |
| day, enabling American troops to begin the liberation of | 23 |
| Europe; and
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| WHEREAS, He received a Purple Heart at Bastogne, Belgium, | 25 |
| during the Battle of the Bulge; during the course of his | 26 |
| military career, he also earned the Combat Infantry Badge, the | 27 |
| Silver Star, and five Bronze Stars; and
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| WHEREAS, He participated in all five European campaigns | 29 |
| during World War II; after the Battle of the Bulge, he was | 30 |
| commissioned into the 80th Infantry Division and was a |
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| lieutenant in command of the Mine Platoon of the 318th | 2 |
| Anti-Tank Co.; after the war, he commanded a German displaced | 3 |
| persons camp in Tachau, Czechoslovakia; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1995, the 50th anniversary of D-Day, Mr. Estes | 5 |
| was honored by the village of St. Laurent sur Mer, France, and | 6 |
| subsequently a museum exhibit was dedicated to him and the men | 7 |
| of the 467th at Musee' D-Day in France; the exhibit still | 8 |
| stands today; and
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| WHEREAS, He has been featured in several books, including | 10 |
| "Hometown Heroes", "Paroles du jour J (Words from D-Day)", and | 11 |
| "La Traversee Des Etats Unis (Traversing the United States on | 12 |
| Route 66)"; and
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| WHEREAS, He was an accomplished and popular speaker with | 14 |
| the Illinois Humanities Council and gave talks to countless | 15 |
| school groups with his program "Private Ryan's Sergeant"; he | 16 |
| was the author of "Tracks Across Europe", a memoir of his | 17 |
| wartime experiences; and
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| WHEREAS, In 2004, at the age of 86, Dal founded the | 19 |
| Livingston County War Museum and Education Center in Pontiac to | 20 |
| honor America's Veterans and to share their stories with future | 21 |
| generations; he worked to make the museum a place where | 22 |
| children could see and touch memorabilia such as uniforms and | 23 |
| weapons and talk with veterans; and
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| WHEREAS, He was awarded the Studs Terkel Humanities Service | 25 |
| Award from the Illinois Humanities Council in 2002, and is a | 26 |
| past recipient of the Pontiac Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of | 27 |
| the Year Award and Grand Marshall of the Threshermen Reunion | 28 |
| Parade; and
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| WHEREAS, He was a member of the AmVets Post 116, American | 30 |
| Legion Post 78, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 886, all |
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| in Pontiac; and
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| WHEREAS, Of all the accolades and awards he received, he | 3 |
| was most proud of his family; he considered them his greatest | 4 |
| legacy, and he never missed an opportunity to tell them he | 5 |
| loved them; he taught them to respect nature, to find the best | 6 |
| in others, and to love and support each other no matter what; | 7 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, The passing of Dalmain H. "Dal" Estes has been | 9 |
| deeply felt by many, especially his wife of 54 years, Betty; | 10 |
| his children, David Estes, Becky (Kenny) McComb, Cynthia | 11 |
| (Simmie Baer), Melissa (Keith) Barnhart, Adam Estes, and | 12 |
| Elizabeth "Ebus" Estes-Cooper; his grandchildren, Jason | 13 |
| (Rhonda) McComb, Lizzie (Craig) Roscoe, and Claire Barnhart; | 14 |
| his great-granddaughter, Grace Roscoe; his brothers-in-law, | 15 |
| Don Mertes and Wilfred Mertes; and his euchre partner and | 16 |
| special sister-in-law, Marie Mertes; his first wife, Mildred, | 17 |
| and his parents preceded him in death; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL | 19 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 20 |
| Dalmain H. "Dal" Estes, whose continuing example of selfless | 21 |
| service will long be remembered; his life bears eloquent | 22 |
| testimony to the courage and bravery of the soldiers that he | 23 |
| served with along with the rest of the Greatest Generation, and | 24 |
| we extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and | 25 |
| all who knew and loved him; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 27 |
| presented to his family as an expression of our deepest | 28 |
| sympathy; his passing is truly a loss not only to his family, | 29 |
| but to his community and to our great State.
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