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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are saddened to learn
of the death of Frank | ||||||
| 4 | Woodruff Buckles, the longest surviving United States veteran | ||||||
| 5 | of
World War I, who passed away on February 27, 2011, at the | ||||||
| 6 | age of 110; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Frank Buckles was born on February 1, 1901; at the | ||||||
| 8 | age of 16,
he witnessed the European theatre of World War I, | ||||||
| 9 | serving as a Corporal in the United
States Army; as an | ||||||
| 10 | ambulance driver in France and Germany, he evacuated
wounded | ||||||
| 11 | soldiers from the horrific battlefield; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, After World War I, Frank Buckles traveled widely, | ||||||
| 13 | working for steamship
companies; he was on business in Manila | ||||||
| 14 | when the Philippines were occupied after
the attack on Pearl | ||||||
| 15 | Harbor in December of 1941; he was imprisoned by occupying | ||||||
| 16 | forces and lost more than 50 pounds before being liberated by | ||||||
| 17 | an American airborne unit in
February of 1945; and | ||||||
| 18 | WHEREAS, For his service during World War I, Frank Buckles | ||||||
| 19 | received the World War I
Victory Medal and qualified for four | ||||||
| 20 | Overseas Service Bars; in 1941, he retroactively
qualified for | ||||||
| 21 | the Army of Occupation of Germany Medal due to his post-war | ||||||
| 22 | service in
Europe in 1919; in 1999, Buckles was further honored | ||||||
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| 1 | by the French
Government and was awarded France's Legion | ||||||
| 2 | d'Honneur; and
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| 3 | WHEREAS, Frank Buckles was laid to rest with full military | ||||||
| 4 | honors at Arlington
National Cemetery; his funeral was attended | ||||||
| 5 | by President Barack Obama and Vice
President Joe Biden; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Frank Buckles represents the generation of | ||||||
| 7 | Americans that served and
sacrificed during World War I, "The | ||||||
| 8 | World to End All Wars", and was the last veteran
among the more | ||||||
| 9 | than 4.7 million Americans who had served in the armed forces | ||||||
| 10 | of the
Allied nations from April 6, 1917, when the United | ||||||
| 11 | States entered World War I, to
November 11, 1918, the date of | ||||||
| 12 | the armistice; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, 116,516 Americans serving in the armed forces gave | ||||||
| 14 | their lives during
World War I; therefore, be it
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| 15 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 16 | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 17 | we mourn, along with his
family, friends, and the rest of a | ||||||
| 18 | grateful nation, the passing of Frank Woodruff
Buckles, and | ||||||
| 19 | honor the lives of all who served during World War I; and be it | ||||||
| 20 | further
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| 21 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
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| 1 | presented to Frank Woodruff
Buckles' daughter, Susannah | ||||||
| 2 | Flanagan, as a symbol of our sincere sympathy and respect.
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