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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 Army | ||||||
4 | Specialist Samuel T. Watts, who gave his life for his country
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5 | while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan on | ||||||
6 | May 19, 2012; and | ||||||
7 | WHEREAS, Army Specialist Watts was born on August 14, 1991, | ||||||
8 | in Elmhurst to
Thomas and Susan Watts; and | ||||||
9 | WHEREAS, Even as a little boy, Army Specialist Watts hoped | ||||||
10 | to serve
his country as a soldier; and | ||||||
11 | WHEREAS, Army Specialist Watts attended elementary and | ||||||
12 | middle
school at St. John Lutheran School in Wheaton, where he | ||||||
13 | also attended church with his
family and graduated from Wheaton | ||||||
14 | North High School in 2010; he enlisted in the United
States | ||||||
15 | Army in the spring of 2010, while still in high school, | ||||||
16 | completing his basic
training at Fort Benning, Georgia, in July | ||||||
17 | 2010 and joining the 508th Infantry Regiment in
October 2010; | ||||||
18 | and | ||||||
19 | WHEREAS, Amy Specialist Watts was a member of Wheaton North
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20 | freshman football and volleyball teams, was an avid BMX rider, | ||||||
21 | attended the fire science
and paramedic program at the |
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1 | Technology Center of DuPage in Addison, and earned a
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2 | prestigious award for his patriotism at Wheaton North's senior | ||||||
3 | honors assembly; and | ||||||
4 | WHEREAS, Army Specialist Watts trained as an infantryman | ||||||
5 | and
paratrooper at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was deployed to | ||||||
6 | Afghanistan on February 25,
2012, with the 82nd Airborne | ||||||
7 | Division; and | ||||||
8 | WHEREAS, Army Specialist Watts served his country with | ||||||
9 | pride as a
member of the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute | ||||||
10 | Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat
Team, 82nd Airborne | ||||||
11 | Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and | ||||||
12 | WHEREAS, The 82nd Airborne Division of the United States | ||||||
13 | Army is an elite
modular airborne infantry division that was | ||||||
14 | constituted in the National Army as the 82nd
Division on August | ||||||
15 | 5th, 1917, and was organized on August 25th, 1917, at Camp | ||||||
16 | Gordon,
Georgia; and | ||||||
17 | WHEREAS, Army Specialist Watts was on foot patrol in the | ||||||
18 | Zharay
district of Kandahar province of Afghanistan on April | ||||||
19 | 25, 2012, when an improvised
explosive device detonated, | ||||||
20 | inflicting devastating wounds upon him; and | ||||||
21 | WHEREAS, On May 16th, 2012, Army Specialist Watts was |
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1 | awarded
the prestigious Purple Heart in a bedside ceremony, and | ||||||
2 | his father, Thomas, was proud to
have had the honor and | ||||||
3 | privilege of pinning the medal on his son; and | ||||||
4 | WHEREAS, Army Specialist Watts was the recipient of the | ||||||
5 | Bronze
Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Army Good | ||||||
6 | Conduct Medal, National
Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan | ||||||
7 | Campaign Medal with Bronze Service Star, Global
War on | ||||||
8 | Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service | ||||||
9 | Ribbon,
NATO Medal, Combat Infantryman's Badge, Expert | ||||||
10 | Marksman Badge, and Parachutist
Badge; and | ||||||
11 | WHEREAS, Army Specialist Watts was included as one of the | ||||||
12 | fallen
heroes honored at the DuPage County Memorial Day | ||||||
13 | Ceremony on Sunday, May 27th,
2012; and
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14 | WHEREAS, Friends and family will always remember Army | ||||||
15 | Specialist Watts as wanting to serve his country and help | ||||||
16 | others and for his generous spirit; and
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17 | WHEREAS, Friends describe Army Specialist Watts as loyal, | ||||||
18 | kind,
noble, a fierce friend, funny, a truly genuine person, | ||||||
19 | the world's greatest, a fighter, a true
hero, an adventurous, | ||||||
20 | fun-loving, and truly fearless person, and a guy you wanted on
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21 | your team; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Amy Specialist Watts planned to become a fire
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2 | fighter/paramedic when he returned from Afghanistan; and
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3 | WHEREAS, Army Specialist Watts will be fiercely
missed by | ||||||
4 | his
loving sisters, Sarah and Abigail; his loyal brother, | ||||||
5 | Andrew; his adoring parents, Thomas
and Susan; and his caring | ||||||
6 | grandparents, Ruth Watts and Paul J. Keehn; therefore, be it
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7 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
8 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
9 | we mourn,
along with his family and friends, the passing of | ||||||
10 | Army Specialist Samuel T. Watts; and be it further
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11 | RESOLVED, That we honor the memory of Army Specialist | ||||||
12 | Watts,
his patriotism, and his willingness to serve his | ||||||
13 | country, which led him to making the
ultimate sacrifice; and be | ||||||
14 | it further | ||||||
15 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
16 | presented to the family of
Army Specialist Watts as a symbol of | ||||||
17 | our sincere sympathy.
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