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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, During World War II's Battle of the Bulge, | ||||||
| 3 | American forces at Hosingen, Luxembourg made a heroic stand | ||||||
| 4 | against overwhelming odds, which bought critical time for | ||||||
| 5 | Allied troops and stalled Hitler's efforts to break the Allied | ||||||
| 6 | advance; Enoch "Nick" Scull Jr. of Sandwich was one of 300 | ||||||
| 7 | soldiers who fought in Hosingen; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Nick Scull was born on a farm outside of Plano in | ||||||
| 9 | August 1924; he served in the U.S. Army as a combat engineer | ||||||
| 10 | with the 103rd Combat Engineer Battalion of the 28th Infantry | ||||||
| 11 | Division during World War II; during his service, he fought in | ||||||
| 12 | many battles in Northern Europe, most notably D-Day and the | ||||||
| 13 | Battle of the Bulge; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, Alongside his fellow soldiers, Nick Scull held | ||||||
| 15 | back numerically superior enemy troops against overwhelming | ||||||
| 16 | odds for two and a half days at Hosingen until the detachment's | ||||||
| 17 | ammunition was exhausted; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, Nick Scull, in addition to setting defensive land | ||||||
| 19 | mines and neutralizing enemy mines, commanded a machine gun | ||||||
| 20 | nest during the crucial days in Hosingen; and
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| 21 | WHEREAS, After exhausting their food, water, and | ||||||
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| 1 | ammunition, Nick Scull and the rest of the American forces in | ||||||
| 2 | Hosingen were ordered to surrender and were captured by the | ||||||
| 3 | Germans; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, After his capture, Nick Scull was confined to | ||||||
| 5 | three German prisoner of war camps, where he lost 55 pounds and | ||||||
| 6 | suffered from frostbite; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Nick Scull has received several honors for his | ||||||
| 8 | bravery and service, including two Purple Hearts for injuries | ||||||
| 9 | received; he was granted the rank of a Knight of the Legion of | ||||||
| 10 | Honor by the French government in 2019 in recognition of the | ||||||
| 11 | sacrifices he made and valor he displayed in liberating France | ||||||
| 12 | from the horrors of National Socialism; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, Nick Scull will be awarded the Order of Merit | ||||||
| 14 | Medal of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg for his defense of | ||||||
| 15 | Luxembourg at Hosingen during the Battle of the Bulge, and the | ||||||
| 16 | award ceremony will take place at the Quincy Veterans' Home on | ||||||
| 17 | June 12, 2022; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, The people of Illinois desire to join the people | ||||||
| 19 | of Luxembourg in honoring and thanking Nick Scull for his | ||||||
| 20 | valor and courage in risking his life to confront the menace of | ||||||
| 21 | National Socialism; therefore, be it
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| 1 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | ||||||
| 2 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare August 12, | ||||||
| 3 | 2021 as The Heroes of Hosingen Day in the State of Illinois and | ||||||
| 4 | request the day be celebrated with appropriate events and | ||||||
| 5 | activities; and be it further
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| 6 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 7 | presented to Enoch "Nick" Scull Jr. as an expression of our | ||||||
| 8 | esteem and respect.
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