SJ0055 LRB095 12083 DRH 36384 r

1
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, It is one of the privileges of the General
3 Assembly to pay due honor and respect to persons who serve our
4 country in time of war; and
 
5     WHEREAS, U.S. Army Specialist Ronald W. "Ron" Gebur,
6 formerly of Delavan, was killed in action in Iraq on May 13,
7 2006; he died of injuries sustained when a roadside bomb
8 detonated near his Humvee in Baghdad; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Specialist Gebur was assigned to the 1st
10 Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry
11 Division, Fort Hood, Texas; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Specialist Gebur, 23 years of age at the time of
13 his death, was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the
14 Purple Heart for his service; and
 
15     WHEREAS, Specialist Gebur was the first current or former
16 resident of Tazewell County to be killed in combat during
17 Operation Iraqi Freedom; and
 
18     WHEREAS, Specialist Gebur is survived by his widow,
19 Bethany, a former sergeant in the U.S. Army, and their
20 21-month-old son, Gage, and by his parents, Lawrence and Debra

 

 

SJ0055 - 2 - LRB095 12083 DRH 36384 r

1 Gebur of Delavan; and
 
2     WHEREAS, During a eulogy at Specialist Gebur's funeral,
3 Lieutenant Governor Patrick Quinn described the fallen soldier
4 as an "American hero"; and
 
5     WHEREAS, A portion of Illinois State Route 122 lies between
6 Delavan and Stanford, hometown of Bethany Gebur; therefore, be
7 it
 
8     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL
9 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
10 CONCURRING HEREIN, that the portion of Illinois State Route 122
11 lying between Delavan and Stanford be designated the Ron W.
12 Gebur Memorial Highway; and be it further
 
13     RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation
14 is requested to erect at suitable locations, consistent with
15 State regulations, plaques or signs giving notice of the name;
16 and be it further
 
17     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
18 presented to the Illinois Secretary of Transportation and to
19 the widow and parents of Specialist Ronald W. Gebur.