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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Kenneth Kays grew up in the southern Illinois
3 community of Fairfield; and
 
4     WHEREAS, Ken Kays was drafted and joined the Army in the
5 fall of 1969 as a medic in the 101st Airborne Division; and
 
6     WHEREAS, On May 6, 1970, medic Ken Kays joined up with the
7 2nd Platoon, Delta Company who had only the day before arrived
8 in Maureen to fighting which resulted in the loss of the
9 Platoon's medic, thus requiring medic Ken Kays to replace him;
10 and
 
11     WHEREAS, On May 6th, the 2nd Platoon spent the day
12 searching through enemy bunkers further down the hill from Fire
13 Support Base Maureen; and
 
14     WHEREAS, The fateful decision was made to have the 2nd
15 Platoon venture back up the hill to make camp for the night in
16 what was thought to have been a "safer" position; this decision
17 to make camp up near FSB Maureen resulted in the 2nd Platoon
18 being separated from the rest of Delta Company; and
 
19     WHEREAS, The 2nd Platoon, consisting of 21 men, including
20 medic Ken Kays, was now stretched over a large area, leaving

 

 

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1 dangerous gaps, prepared to get some much needed rest; and
 
2     WHEREAS, In the early morning hours of May 7th, the North
3 Vietnamese Army infiltrated the camp and set satchel charges
4 around the camp prior to opening fire with their AK-47s; and
 
5     WHEREAS, The rest of Delta Company heard the explosions and
6 gunfire and began to make their way back up the ridge, but was
7 ambushed and pushed back to their original position thus
8 leaving the 2nd Platoon to fight alone; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Upon hearing his fellow soldiers screaming in
10 pain, medic Ken Kays bolted into action; and while running
11 across the perimeter to help a wounded soldier, a satchel
12 charge was activated at medic Ken Kays' feet, propelling him
13 several feet in the air; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Undeterred from his mission, medic Ken Kays rose
15 and started to run again only to discover he had lost the lower
16 portion of his left leg. He then applied a tourniquet to his
17 injured leg and continued to hop and crawl his way around the
18 perimeter to give aid to wounded soldiers; and
 
19     WHEREAS, Medic Ken Kays, despite his own injury, continued
20 to seek out and move wounded soldiers to safety; and partially
21 due to his actions only 7 of the 21 men died at FSB Maureen; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, In a platoon of only 21 men, the four highest
2 awards for heroism would be given for their actions on that day
3 thus suggesting the intensity of the struggle that early
4 morning at Maureen; and
 
5     WHEREAS, These awards were: the Congressional Medal of
6 Honor to Kenneth Kays, the Distinguished Service Cross to
7 Kenneth David, the Silver Star to Greg Phillips, and the Bronze
8 Star with "V" device to Steve "Greek" Avgerinos; and there were
9 more than a dozen Purple Hearts awarded for wounds received in
10 the battle; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Upon daybreak, Delta Company ventured back up the
12 ridge to re-join the 2nd Platoon, a soldier from the company
13 found a half-conscious medic Ken Kays laying on top of two
14 wounded soldiers in an attempt to offer protection; and
 
15     WHEREAS, Although hovering near death from loss of blood,
16 medic Ken Kays refused to be placed on a helicopter until the
17 two other severely wounded men were placed there too; and
 
18     WHEREAS, Although medic Ken Kays actions that day were
19 rewarded with a military honor, he had an antiwar stance that
20 often led to public scrutiny right up until his death in 1991;
21 therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
3 recognize the heroic actions of medic Ken Kays during his
4 service in the Vietnam War; and be it further
 
5     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
6 presented to the City of Fairfield to be displayed in the local
7 museum.