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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, On May 2, 2018, a WC-130 Hercules cargo plane
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3 | traveling from Savannah, Georgia to Tucson, Arizona crashed
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4 | shortly after takeoff killing all nine service members on | ||||||
5 | board; and
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6 | WHEREAS, The nine service members were part of the 156th
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7 | Airlift Wing, which is home to the "Bucaneros" and had nearly
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8 | 170 years of combined service experience; and
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9 | WHEREAS, The plane, attached to the Puerto Rico Air
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10 | National Guard 156th Airlift Wing, was being decommissioned
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11 | after more than 40 years of use; and | ||||||
12 | WHEREAS, As part of Puerto Rico's Air National Guard fleet,
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13 | the plane could be outfitted for transport, reconnaissance,
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14 | search and rescue, research, refueling, patrol, or as a | ||||||
15 | gunship; and | ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, During the 2017 hurricane season, the Puerto Rico
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17 | Air National Guard used the aircraft to rescue Americans from
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18 | the British Virgin Islands after Hurricane Irma; later, it
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19 | supplied much needed food and water to Puerto Ricans after
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20 | Hurricane Maria; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, The roles of the nine airmen who perished were
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2 | essential during each mission in which they participated,
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3 | including the 2017 hurricane recovery rescue and resupply
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4 | efforts; and | ||||||
5 | WHEREAS, Major Jose R. Roman Rosado, the pilot, had 18 | ||||||
6 | years
of service; he is survived by his wife and two sons; and | ||||||
7 | WHEREAS, Major Carlos Perez Serra, the aircraft navigator, | ||||||
8 | had 23
years of service; he is survived by his wife, two sons, | ||||||
9 | and a
daughter; and | ||||||
10 | WHEREAS, First Lieutenant David Albandoz, the co-pilot, | ||||||
11 | had
16 years of service; he is survived by his wife and | ||||||
12 | daughter; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, Senior Master Sergeant Jan Paravisini, an | ||||||
14 | aircraft
mechanic with 21 years of service, is survived by two | ||||||
15 | daughters
and a son; and | ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, Master Sergeant Jean Audriffred, an airman with 16
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17 | years of service, is survived by his wife and two sons; and | ||||||
18 | WHEREAS, Master Sergeant Mario Brana, the flight engineer,
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19 | had 17 years of service; he is survived by his mother and
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20 | daughter; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, Master Sergeant Victor Colon, an airman with 22 | ||||||
2 | years
of service, is survived by his wife and two daughters; | ||||||
3 | and | ||||||
4 | WHEREAS, Master Sergeant Eric Circuns, a loadmaster with 31
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5 | years of services, is survived by his wife, two stepdaughters,
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6 | and a son; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Senior Airman Roberto Espada had three years of
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8 | service; he is survived by his grandmother; and
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9 | WHEREAS, The crash with nine fatalities brings the total
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10 | number of noncombat-related wrecks of military aircraft to | ||||||
11 | seven
so far this year, resulting in 27 United States service | ||||||
12 | member
deaths; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Honoring the courageous men and women who serve in
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14 | uniform is of the highest priority for the Illinois Senate; | ||||||
15 | therefore, be it
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16 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | ||||||
17 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we honor the lives and | ||||||
18 | the memory of the
nine Puerto Rican service members killed in | ||||||
19 | the noncombat-related
military plane crash in Savannah, | ||||||
20 | Georgia; and be it further |
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1 | RESOLVED, That we extend our deepest condolences to
the | ||||||
2 | families and loved ones of the fallen airmen; and be it further
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3 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
4 | presented to the families of the nine Puerto Rican service | ||||||
5 | members.
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