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92_HR0576 LRB9211136AGmb 1 HOUSE RESOLUTION 2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of 3 Representatives wish to recognize Abner Ganet's tremendous 4 contribution during World War II and his continuous work 5 educating today's young people about the ongoing struggle for 6 freedom; and 7 WHEREAS, Mr. Ganet landed in the D-Day invasion of 8 Normandy and fought in the lead division across Europe; he 9 was wounded and then returned to his unit to help capture 10 Aachen, the first German city taken on the Western front; his 11 entire unit was wiped out and he was promoted from a 12 one-stripe private first class to a platoon sergeant with 13 five stripes; Mr. Ganet was a 19-year-old American soldier 14 when he stepped inside the barracks guardroom of Buchenwald; 15 he held the painful memories of what he witnessed at bay and 16 was silent on the subject for 50 years; and 17 WHEREAS, In 1995, Mr. Ganet met Elie Wiesel, Holocaust 18 survivor and author; Mr. Ganet's unit liberated the 19 concentration camp the day that the fleeing Nazi army had 20 slated Mr. Wiesel and the other Jewish children to die in the 21 gas chamber; Mr. Wiesel told him that he must tell his story; 22 and 23 WHEREAS, After speaking with Mr. Wiesel, Vern Haase, a 24 1st Division photographer, offered Mr. Ganet copies of the 25 pictures he had taken during the war; later that same day, a 26 teacher at York High School asked Mr. Ganet to speak about 27 his experiences; Mr. Ganet decided he must talk to young 28 people about what he had witnessed firsthand; and 29 WHEREAS, Mr. Ganet has been sharing his stories and 30 pictures of Buchenwald and World War II with Chicago-area 31 students for the last 6 years; Mr. Ganet conveys the 32 atrocities he witnessed; he tells of how prominent local -2- LRB9211136AGmb 1 citizens were brought to Buchenwald to witness the human 2 carnage; and he tells of Herman Goering's suicide in the 3 Nuremberg jail where Mr. Ganet was a guard; and 4 WHEREAS, He points out that the students interact with 5 'someone who was actually there, who cried, who threw up, who 6 was appalled by man's inhumanity to man'; he adds a personal 7 level to the student's studies of the Holocaust; he feels 8 that talking about the tragedy is even more relevant after 9 the September 11th attacks and wants a new generation of 10 soldiers who may be facing death and horror in Afghanistan to 11 know that their experiences should not be locked away; and 12 WHEREAS, Mr. Ganet married, had children, and served as 13 mayor of Elmhurst; he reunited with two war buddies at the 14 1st Infantry Division reunion last August; speaking of his 15 experiences has been rewarding and enlightening for the 16 countless number of young people Mr. Ganet has reached; 17 therefore, be it 18 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 19 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 20 we recognize the contributions and commitment of Abner Ganet; 21 and be it further 22 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 23 presented to Mr. Ganet with our sincere gratitude.