Full Text of HJR0037 102nd General Assembly
HJ0037 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, It is highly fitting that the Illinois General | 3 | | Assembly pays honor and respect to the truly great individuals | 4 | | who have served our country and, in doing so, have made the | 5 | | ultimate sacrifice for our nation; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, John W. Frederick Jr. was born on December 13, | 7 | | 1923 in Manito; on May 7, 1942, he enlisted in the Marine Corps | 8 | | and subsequently attended Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San | 9 | | Diego, California; during 40 combat missions in World War II, | 10 | | he served as a tail gunner and radar operator on Grumman TBF | 11 | | Avenger torpedo bombers; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, After the war, John Frederick flew reconnaissance | 13 | | missions in China during Operation Beleaguer; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, During the first year of the Korean War, | 15 | | Technical Sergeant John Frederick flew 90 combat missions as | 16 | | the airborne intercept operator in Grumman F7F Tigercats with | 17 | | Marine All Weather Fighter Squadron 542 (VMF(N)-542); he was | 18 | | awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross for his service before | 19 | | rotating home in July of 1951; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, After the war, Master Sergeant John Frederick was | 21 | | stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North |
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| 1 | | Carolina and Naval Air Station Atsugi, Japan; in June of 1959, | 2 | | he was assigned to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland | 3 | | where he worked on the F4H-1 Phantom II project; in July of | 4 | | 1961, he was promoted to warrant officer; in December of 1964, | 5 | | he was assigned to Marine Attack Squadron 533 (VMA-533) at | 6 | | Cherry Point; in May of 1965, he was transferred to Marine | 7 | | Fighter Attack Squadron 323 (VMFA-323); and | 8 | | WHEREAS, On December 1, 1965, Chief Warrant Officer 2 John | 9 | | Frederick deployed to Vietnam with VMFA-323; on the night of | 10 | | December 7, he was the radar intercept officer of an F-4B | 11 | | Phantom during an escort mission out of Da Nang Air Base when | 12 | | his plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile over North | 13 | | Vietnam; although he severely burned his hands when his part | 14 | | of the cockpit was enveloped by flames, he successfully | 15 | | ejected from the aircraft; the pilot, Major John H. Dunn, also | 16 | | survived the crash and was captured six days later; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, The next morning, John Frederick accidentally | 18 | | walked into an enemy gun emplacement and single-handedly | 19 | | attacked the position; he managed to fight off North | 20 | | Vietnamese soldiers before he was overpowered and captured; he | 21 | | was subsequently beaten and taken to a prisoner of war camp in | 22 | | Hanoi; and | 23 | | WHEREAS, As one of the first Marines to be taken as a POW |
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| 1 | | during the war, John Frederick helped set the standard for | 2 | | conduct of other captured Marines, unifying the men and | 3 | | increasing morale; he strictly adhered to the code of conduct | 4 | | and refused to take part in North Vietnamese propaganda | 5 | | programs; his resistance to the enemy also caused him to be | 6 | | routinely tortured and beaten during countless interrogations; | 7 | | and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, John Frederick also faced extended periods of | 9 | | solitary confinement for refusing to bow and refusing to | 10 | | provide biographical information; in 1972, he was held in | 11 | | solitary confinement for 90 days and contracted either typhoid | 12 | | fever or meningitis; falling into a coma, he was likely being | 13 | | transported to a hospital in Hanoi when he died on or about | 14 | | July 19, 1972 after more than 2,400 days in captivity; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, While other American prisoners of war were | 16 | | released between February and April of 1973 during Operation | 17 | | Homecoming, John Frederick's remains were returned to the | 18 | | United States on March 13, 1974; he was buried at Mount Hope | 19 | | Cemetery in Tremont; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, John Frederick was posthumously promoted to chief | 21 | | warrant officer 4 and was awarded the Navy Cross; he was also | 22 | | awarded the Silver Star, two Legions of Merit, and the Bronze | 23 | | Star for his actions while a prisoner of war, making him one of |
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| 1 | | the most decorated warrant officers in Marine Corps history; | 2 | | in 1999, a study lounge at The Basic School in Marine Corps | 3 | | Base Quantico was dedicated in his name; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, CWO4 John W. Frederick Jr. was survived by his | 5 | | wife, Lorraine Wilma, and his four children, Michael, Gerald, | 6 | | Barbara, and Paula; therefore, be it
| 7 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 8 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 9 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate Interstate I-155 | 10 | | from Interstate 74 to IL Route 9 near Morton and Tremont as the | 11 | | "CWO4 John W. Frederick Jr. Memorial Highway"; and be it | 12 | | further
| 13 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation | 14 | | is requested to erect, at suitable locations consistent with | 15 | | State and federal regulations, appropriate plaques or signs | 16 | | giving notice of the name of the "CWO4 John W. Frederick Jr. | 17 | | Memorial Highway"; and be it further
| 18 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 19 | | presented to the family of CWO4 John W. Frederick Jr. and the | 20 | | Secretary of Transportation.
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