SR0264 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0264 LRB095 12556 GRL 37791 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of U.S. Army Captain Joshua E. Steele of North Henderson, who was killed in action near Panjway, Afghanistan on June 17, 2007; and

WHEREAS, Captain Joshua Steele was born on July 8, 1980, in Galesburg; his parents were R. Philip and Paula Weir Steele; and

WHEREAS, Captain Joshua Steele was raised on a farm near North Henderson and attended Immaculate Conception Parochial School in Monmouth and Alexis High School; after graduating from high school at the Missouri Military Academy in Mexico, Missouri in 1998, he received his degree in geological engineering from the University of Missouri at Rolla magna cum laude in 2002, where he was a member of the Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity and the Society of Military Engineers; and

WHEREAS, Captain Joshua Steele was commissioned in the Army in 2002 and was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri with the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division Transition Team; he was assigned to the 5th and later the 35th Engineering Battalion; he was previously deployed in Iraq and the Republic of Georgia, before being sent to Afghanistan in January 2007; and

WHEREAS, Captain Joshua Steele enjoyed geological pursuits, as well as raising and showing swine, horseback riding, hunting, and life on the farm; he was a member of the 4-H and FFA in Alexis, the Civil Air Patrol in Galesburg; and he was vice president of his junior class in high school; and

WHEREAS, Captain Joshua Steele will be remembered by all who knew him as a bright and industrious young man; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of U.S. Army Captain Joshua E. Steele; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we honor the memory of U.S. Army Captain Joshua E. Steele and his willingness to serve our country, which led to him making the ultimate sacrifice; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of U.S. Army Captain Joshua E. Steele as an expression of our sympathy.