Full Text of HR0673 94th General Assembly
HR0673 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HR0673 |
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LRB094 14371 HSS 49300 r |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Throughout most of World War II, the USS | 3 |
| Indianapolis served as the Flagship of the Fifth Fleet in the | 4 |
| Pacific under the command of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, U.S. | 5 |
| Navy; during her career in the Pacific, she earned a total of | 6 |
| 10 Battle Stars; and
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| WHEREAS, After safely delivering the world's first | 8 |
| operational atom bombs to Tinian Island, she was sent to join | 9 |
| the assembling invasion fleet at Leyte Gulf; halfway between | 10 |
| Guam and Leyte, at 14 minutes past midnight on July 30, 1945, | 11 |
| the Indianapolis was struck by two torpedoes of a spread of | 12 |
| six, fired by the submarine I-58 of the Imperial Japanese Navy; | 13 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, The Indianapolis was mortally wounded, and | 15 |
| everywhere men were killed, seriously burned, and maimed; | 16 |
| within 12 minutes, while brave men struggled to hand out life | 17 |
| vests, drag wounded shipmates, and scramble topside, the | 18 |
| Indianapolis sank quietly beneath the surface of the Pacific; | 19 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, Of the ship's company of 1,197 men and one | 21 |
| passenger, the survivors estimate that about 800 made it into | 22 |
| the water and relative safety, where the dangers were just | 23 |
| beginning; fuel oil coated the sea and blood from the wounded | 24 |
| attracted sharks; lack of water and food caused many to | 25 |
| hallucinate, to fight among themselves, and to go mad; for five | 26 |
| days, the men struggled until they were finally discovered, and | 27 |
| only 318 remained to be rescued; and
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| WHEREAS, The sacrifice of the USS Indianapolis has been | 29 |
| honored by our nation with a national memorial located in | 30 |
| Indianapolis, Indiana, dedicated on August 2, 1995; and
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HR0673 |
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LRB094 14371 HSS 49300 r |
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| WHEREAS, Thirty-two citizens of Illinois survived the | 2 |
| ordeal, including Maurice Bell, Russell L. Brandt, John K. | 3 |
| Bullard, Curtis H. Burton, Norman S. Galbraith, Edgar A. | 4 |
| Harrell, Harlan C. Havener, Joseph F. Hubeli, Gust C. Katsikas, | 5 |
| Walter Kazmierski (Kay), Oliver W. Kenly, Michael N. Kuryla | 6 |
| Jr., Ralph Lane, George E. Laws, Arthur L. Leenerman, Robert A. | 7 |
| Lucas, Donald C. McCall, Robert M. McGuiggan, Anthony F. Maday, | 8 |
| Chester J. Makaroff, Farrell J. Maxwell, Herbert J. Miner II, | 9 |
| Troy A. Nunley, John Olijar, Richard A. Paroubek, Herbert A. | 10 |
| Rehner, Earl Riggins, John A. Schmueck, William E. Simpson, | 11 |
| Andre Sospizio, Daniel F. Spencer, and Charles M. Turner; and
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| WHEREAS, Today, just 14 men from Illinois remain that | 13 |
| miraculously survived the sinking of the Indianapolis; ten | 14 |
| reside in Illinois and four in other states; they include | 15 |
| Maurice Bell (Alabama), Edgar A. Harrell (Tennessee), Troy A. | 16 |
| Nunley (Florida), Richard A. Paroubek (Virginia), Gust C. | 17 |
| Katsikas, Michael N. Kuryla Jr., George E. Laws, Arthur L. | 18 |
| Leenerman, Robert A. Lucas, Donald C. McCall, Robert M. | 19 |
| McGuiggan, Herbert J. Miner II, Earl Riggins, and Andre | 20 |
| Sospizio; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 22 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 23 |
| we honor the men that fought for our country during World War | 24 |
| II and miraculously survived the sinking of the USS | 25 |
| Indianapolis; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 27 |
| presented to each of the remaining survivors as an expression | 28 |
| of our esteem.
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