Full Text of SJR0005 103rd General Assembly
SJ0005 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, It is appropriate to remember the many sacrifices | 3 | | and contributions to the cause of freedom made by the | 4 | | outstanding men and women who served in the U.S. Armed Forces; | 5 | | and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, First Lieutenant James F. Claussen was born to | 7 | | Ernest and Stella Claussen on Christmas Day in 1921; at the | 8 | | time, the family lived on a small farm near Jacob; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, 1LT Claussen voluntarily enlisted in the U.S. | 10 | | Army in June of 1940 with the goal of becoming a paratrooper; | 11 | | he did not meet the Army's size requirements to become a | 12 | | paratrooper and redirected his efforts to becoming a pilot; | 13 | | and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, From June of 1943 until his death in March of | 15 | | 1945, 1LT Claussen flew seven combat missions over Sicily, | 16 | | France, Holland, and Germany; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, On March 24, 1945, 1LT Claussen was killed in | 18 | | action while taking part in Operation Varsity; while his three | 19 | | year commitment when enlisting had ended, he volunteered to | 20 | | fly the day he was killed in action; his C-46 Commando was last | 21 | | seen with its left engine on fire heading back across the Rhine |
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| 1 | | River after successfully dropping all of its paratroopers; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, 1LT Claussen was the recipient of the Air Medal, | 3 | | the American Defense Service Medal, and the Good Conduct | 4 | | Medal; he was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart; | 5 | | therefore, be it
| 6 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | 7 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF | 8 | | REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate the | 9 | | portion of Illinois Route 3 between mile marker 20 and mile | 10 | | marker 22, near Rockwood, as the "1LT James F. Claussen | 11 | | Memorial Highway"; and be it further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation | 13 | | is requested to erect at suitable locations, consistent with | 14 | | State and federal regulations, appropriate plaques or signs | 15 | | giving notice of the name of "1LT James F. Claussen Memorial | 16 | | Highway"; and be it further
| 17 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 18 | | presented to the Secretary of Transportation and the family of | 19 | | 1LT Claussen.
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