HR0616 LRB095 12780 GRL 38159 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of General
4 Wayne Downing of Peoria, who passed away on July 18, 2007; and
 
5     WHEREAS, General Wayne Downing grew up on Brons Street in
6 Peoria before joining the U.S. Army; his Army career led him to
7 Okinawa and two tours in Vietnam, where he earned two Silver
8 Stars, the Soldiers Medal, the Bronze Star with V device and
9 five oak leaf clusters, and the Purple Heart; in 1974, he was
10 picked to help reform the Army Rangers into a larger unit;
11 during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, he commanded 1,200 U.S.
12 Special Forces that halted Iraq's SCUD missile attacks and
13 eased missile threats in the war zone; and
 
14     WHEREAS, General Wayne Downing retired as the head of the
15 U.S. Special Operations Command in 1996; as special operations
16 commander, he was in charge of the special operations forces of
17 each service, such as the Navy's SEALs and the Army's Green
18 Berets, approximately 47,000 troops total; after his
19 retirement, he was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame,
20 credited with creating "operations and organization documents
21 and standardized tactical operations and training for the
22 future Ranger force"; and
 

 

 

HR0616 - 2 - LRB095 12780 GRL 38159 r

1     WHEREAS, Weeks after the World Trade Center was destroyed,
2 General Wayne Downing was asked by President George W. Bush to
3 come out of retirement and serve as his principal adviser on
4 efforts to detect, disrupt, and destroy international
5 terrorist groups and their support networks; he served in that
6 capacity for nine months before retiring again; and
 
7     WHEREAS, General Wayne Downing will be remembered by all
8 who knew him as a highly respected and highly capable soldier
9 and family man whose professionalism and courage were
10 unmatched; therefore, be it
 
11     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
12 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
13 mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of
14 General Wayne Downing; and be it further
 
15     RESOLVED, That we honor the memory of General Wayne Downing
16 and his willingness to serve our country with bravery and
17 distinction; and be it further
 
18     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
19 presented to the family of General Wayne Downing as an
20 expression of our sympathy.