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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

  
 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of 
3Representatives wish to congratulate Dean Preston on being 
4awarded the French Legion d'honneur, France's highest 
5distinction awarded to those who have done great deeds
for 
6France; and
  
 
7    WHEREAS, Dean Preston graduated from Pekin Community High 
8School in 1942, and  along with his brother, Jim, voluntarily

9entered the service ahead of the draft; after basic training, 
10he was sent
to advanced radio repair school, where he was 
11trained to integrate wired telephones and field sets with
a 
12wireless radio network; and
  
 
13    WHEREAS, Dean Preston was assigned as a corporal to U.S. 
14Army, 927th Signal Battalion, Separate, Tactical Air Command; 
15in August of 1944, he and his battalion were assigned to 
16support Operation Dragoon, the invasion force of Southern 
17France; in December of 1944, he found himself in "no-man's 
18land" when a German winter
counter-attack through the Ardennes 
19Forest in concert with the Battle
of the Bulge and a German 
20operation that headed south into Eastern France called

21Operation Nordwind converged in the same area; miraculously, 
22he survived, and as the war was coming to an end in March of 
231945, he joined with the 101st Airborne Division, whose task 
 
 
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1was  to hunt down any fanatical German resistance; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Dean Preston departed the European Theater of 
3Operations from
Marseille on November 21, 1945 and arrived 
4back in the United States on  December 4, 1945; following the 
5war, fellow 927th Signal Battalion Radioman Ted Richardson 
6credited Dean
with saving his life; and
 
7    WHEREAS, During his time in the
service, Dean Preston 
8earned the American Campaign Medal, the European African 
9Middle East
Campaign Medal with five Campaign Stars for 
10Northern France, Rome-Arno, Southern France, Rhineland,
and 
11Central Europe, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the World War II 
12Victory Medal, and the Meritorious Unit Commendation citation; 
13he also earned three Overseas Bars and qualified as
an Expert 
14with the Carbine Rifle and Sub-Machine Gun; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Dean Preston graduated from the University of 
16Illinois with a Bachelor of Science in
Business Administration 
17in 1949; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Dean Preston was employed by the American 
19Distilling Company in Pekin for
28 years, serving as a 
20bottling superintendent; he later continued in that capacity 
21for Midwest Grain for seven
additional years, formally 
22retiring in 1987; since that time, he has and continues to work 
 
 
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1part-time as a
greeter and driver for the Preston-Hanley 
2Funeral Home in Pekin; and
  
 
3    WHEREAS, Dean Preston was a 12-year member of the Tazewell 
4County Sheriff's Auxiliary Patrol; he is a Life Member of 
5Empire Lodge 126, Ancient Free &
Accepted Masons of Illinois 
6in Pekin and a member of
William Schaefer American Legion Post 
744; and
  
 
8    WHEREAS, Dean Preston is a former member of the Pekin

9Barbershop Chorus, a youth counselor with Junior Achievement, 
10and the Drum Sergeant of the Shrine
Kiltie Band in Peoria; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Dean Preston and his wife, Alberta, had 66 
12wonderful years together before her passing; and
 
  
13    WHEREAS, Dean Preston will turn 99 years of age in 
14November of 2023; therefore, be it
  
 
15    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE 
16HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 
17we congratulate Dean Preston on being awarded the French 
18Legion d'honneur, and we wish him many more wonderful years; 
19and be it further
  
 
20    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
 
 
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1presented to Dean Preston as a symbol of our respect and 
2esteem.