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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, United States Marine Private Jack Redman has | ||||||
| 3 | finally been
laid to rest in his Illinois hometown of Watseka | ||||||
| 4 | more than 70 years after his
combat death in World War II; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Jack Redman was born on November 17, 1923 to Guy | ||||||
| 6 | "Jack" and
Hazel Martin Redman; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Jack Redman graduated from Watseka Community High | ||||||
| 8 | School in 1942,
where he excelled in football, basketball, and | ||||||
| 9 | track; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, Jack Redman played football at the University of | ||||||
| 11 | Illinois before enlisting
in the Marines at the age of 19; and | ||||||
| 12 | WHEREAS, Jack Redman lost his life in battle on the island | ||||||
| 13 | of Tarawa Atoll in the
Central Pacific Ocean on November 23, | ||||||
| 14 | 1943; and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, Soldiers who fought beside Jack Redman on his | ||||||
| 16 | final day reported that
he was a true hero who saved the lives | ||||||
| 17 | of 5 of his friends and was attempting
to bring an injured man | ||||||
| 18 | to safety when he was fatally shot; and | ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, Jack Redman's remains were lost overseas for more | ||||||
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| 1 | than 70 years, but
his family, including his brothers Merrill | ||||||
| 2 | and Eugene Redman, both of Watseka,
along with 2 nieces and 2 | ||||||
| 3 | nephews, never gave up their efforts to find him
and bring him | ||||||
| 4 | home to Central Illinois; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, An exhaustive 7-decade search for Jack Redman's | ||||||
| 6 | pacific theater
gravesite finally and successfully ended last | ||||||
| 7 | fall with his discovery by a Tarawa
native; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, On May 16, 2015, Jack Redman was finally laid to | ||||||
| 9 | rest at the
G.A.R. Cemetery in Watseka with full military | ||||||
| 10 | honors; therefore, be it
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| 11 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 12 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 13 | honor Marine Private Jack Redman's heroism and sacrifice and we | ||||||
| 14 | also honor the Redman family for their dedication to bringing | ||||||
| 15 | him home, no matter how long it took; and be it further
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| 16 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 17 | presented to the family of Jack
Redman as a symbol of our | ||||||
| 18 | sympathy and respect.
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