Full Text of HJR0003 98th General Assembly
HJ0003 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The Korean War has played an important part in | 3 | | American history; the veterans of the Korean War have earned | 4 | | the respect and admiration of all people; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, An armed conflict that began in June of 1950 and | 6 | | ended in July of 1953, the Korean War exacted a heavy toll; | 7 | | 33,629 Americans were killed in action and 20,617 died of | 8 | | injuries or disease; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, The Korean War began when the United Nations urged | 10 | | its members to repel the Communist aggressors in Korea; in July | 11 | | of 1950, the UN Security Council recommended that all member | 12 | | nations contributing to the defense of South Korea make their | 13 | | troops available to a unified command headed by the United | 14 | | States; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, It is appropriate for us to remember the many | 16 | | sacrifices and contributions to the cause of freedom made by | 17 | | the outstanding men and women who served in the Korean War; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, The date of June 25, 2010 commemorates the 60th | 19 | | anniversary of the start of the Korean War; July 17, 2013 will | 20 | | mark the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended the | 21 | | conflict; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, William G. Windrich, James I. Poynter, Lester | 2 | | Hammond, John E. Kilmer, Louis J. Sebille, William F. Dean, | 3 | | Edward C. Krzyzowski, and Richard G. Wilson, all of whom hailed | 4 | | from Illinois, were awarded the Medal of Honor for their heroic | 5 | | actions during the Korean War; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant William Gordon Windrich was | 7 | | awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his outstanding | 8 | | heroism as a platoon sergeant during the Battle of Chosin | 9 | | Reservoir; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, William Windrich was born on May 14, 1921 in | 11 | | Chicago; he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve | 12 | | on June 6, 1938, and was ordered to active duty in November of | 13 | | 1940; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, During World War II, William Windrich spent 20 | 15 | | months overseas in the south and central Pacific as a machine | 16 | | gunner with the 2nd and 5th Defense Battalions; after his | 17 | | discharge in November of 1945, he reenlisted in the United | 18 | | States Marine Corps in February of 1946; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, At the outbreak of the Korean War, SSgt. Windrich | 20 | | was on military police chief duty at Camp Pendleton in | 21 | | California; he subsequently went overseas with the 1st |
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| 1 | | Provisional Marine Brigade and was among the first Marines to | 2 | | see action in Korea; he also participated in the Inchon landing | 3 | | and in the capture of Seoul; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, SSgt. Windrich was killed in action the early | 5 | | morning of December 2, 1950, near Yudam-ni, North Korea, during | 6 | | a savage night battle with Chinese communist forces on Hill | 7 | | 1520; he refused to be evacuated, even after being wounded | 8 | | twice, once when a grenade fragment ripped through his helmet | 9 | | and later when he was felled by gunshot wounds in the legs; | 10 | | instead, he directed his men in setting up defensive positions | 11 | | and shouted words of encouragement until he succumbed to his | 12 | | wounds and the bitter cold; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The Medal of Honor, the United States' highest | 14 | | award for valor in combat, was presented to SSgt. Windrich's | 15 | | widow by Secretary of the Navy Daniel A. Kimball during | 16 | | ceremonies on February 8, 1952; he is now buried at Arlington | 17 | | National Cemetery; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Sergeant James Irsley Poynter was born on December | 19 | | 1, 1916 in Bloomington; he enlisted in the United States Marine | 20 | | Corps in February of 1942; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, James Poynter fought in the Pacific theatre during | 22 | | World War II and participated in the Guadalcanal, Southern |
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| 1 | | Solomons, Saipan, Tinian, and Okinawa campaigns; he was | 2 | | discharged in February of 1946; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, At the beginning of the Korean War, Sgt. Poynter | 4 | | re-enlisted in the Marine Corps and joined the Marine Corps | 5 | | Reserve 13th Infantry Battalion in Los Angeles on July 19, | 6 | | 1950; he arrived in Korea in time to aid in the recapture of | 7 | | Seoul after the Inchon landing; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Sgt. Poynter was awarded the Bronze Star with | 9 | | Combat "V" for "outstanding leadership, ability and courageous | 10 | | aggressiveness against the enemy" as a squad leader during | 11 | | actions on September 24 to October 4, 1950; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, On November 4, 1950, Sgt. Poynter served as squad | 13 | | leader of Company A of the 7th Marine Regiment; while defending | 14 | | Hill 532, south of Sudong, Korea, he was wounded in | 15 | | hand-to-hand combat; in spite of his wounds, upon seeing 3 | 16 | | machine guns setting up only 25 yards away, he charged the | 17 | | enemy position with hand grenades from fallen comrades; he was | 18 | | able to take out all 3 machine gun crews by sacrificing his own | 19 | | life; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Sgt. Poynter's heroic actions enabled his | 21 | | outnumbered platoon to beat off the enemy assault and move to | 22 | | more defensible positions; he was awarded the Medal of Honor |
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| 1 | | for his actions on November 4, 1950, and was buried with full | 2 | | military honors in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San | 3 | | Diego, California; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Corporal Lester Hammond, Jr. was born on March 25, | 5 | | 1931, in Wayland, Missouri, and entered service in Quincy; he | 6 | | served as a radio operator with Company A of the United States | 7 | | Army's 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Cpl. Hammond was serving with the 187th near | 9 | | Kumhwa, Korea, on August 14, 1952; the combat team had | 10 | | penetrated about 3,500 yards into enemy-held territory when the | 11 | | small American patrol was ambushed and surrounded by a larger | 12 | | enemy force; the team fought its way up a narrow ravine in | 13 | | search of cover; Hammond was wounded during the initial | 14 | | exchange of gunfire, but remained in the open so he could call | 15 | | in artillery fire that helped repulse several enemy attacks; | 16 | | and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Despite being wounded a second time, Cpl. Hammond | 18 | | continued to direct the artillery fire until a friendly platoon | 19 | | was able to reach his patrol and help them withdraw; Cpl. | 20 | | Hammond died from his injuries, but the members of his patrol | 21 | | owed him their lives for the heroic decisions he made that day; | 22 | | and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Cpl. Lester Hammond Jr. was awarded the Medal of | 2 | | Honor for valor in combat for his actions on August 14, 1952; | 3 | | after his initial burial in Quincy's Greenmount Cemetery, his | 4 | | casket was moved to Sunset Cemetery at the Illinois Veterans | 5 | | Home in Quincy in 1983; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, John Edward Kilmer was born on August 15, 1930, in | 7 | | Highland Park; he enlisted in the United States Navy on August | 8 | | 16, 1947 as an apprentice seaman, and attended the Hospital | 9 | | Corps School in San Diego, California; after graduating in | 10 | | April of 1948, he was promoted to the rank of hospitalman | 11 | | apprentice; he was subsequently promoted to the rank of | 12 | | hospitalman on September 1, 1950; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Hospitalman Kilmer was assigned to the hospital | 14 | | ship USS Repose (AH-16) when war broke out in Korea; after his | 15 | | enlistment term expired in August of 1951, he soon rejoined the | 16 | | Navy and joined the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, Fleet Marine | 17 | | Forces after completing instruction at the Field Medical School | 18 | | at Camp Pendleton, California; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, On August 12, 1952, Hospitalman Kilmer took part | 20 | | in the attack on "Bunker Hill" in Korea; he attended to the | 21 | | wounded during the battle and was himself mortally wounded | 22 | | after using his body to shield another man from enemy fire; for | 23 | | this action, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor; |
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| 1 | | and | 2 | | WHEREAS, On June 18, 1953, Hospitalman Kilmer's mother, | 3 | | Lois Kilmer, was presented with her son's Medal of Honor by | 4 | | Secretary of the Navy Robert Bernard Anderson; he was buried in | 5 | | San Jose Burial Park, San Antonio, Texas, with full military | 6 | | honors; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Louis Joseph "Lou" Sebille was born on November | 8 | | 21, 1915, in Harbor Beach, Michigan; he attended Wayne State | 9 | | University in Detroit, Michigan; after his graduation, he moved | 10 | | to Chicago in the 1930s; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Louis Sebille enlisted in the United States Army | 12 | | Air Corps several days after the December 7, 1941 attack on | 13 | | Pearl Harbor; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Louis Sebille flew 68 combat missions during World | 15 | | War II as a B-26 bomber pilot; in the fall of 1948, he became | 16 | | the commanding officer of the 67th Squadron of the 18th | 17 | | Fighter-Bomber Group; after the Korean War began, his squadron | 18 | | was one of the first to be sent to Japan; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, On August 5, 1950, during a close air support | 20 | | mission, anti-aircraft fire damaged Louis Sebille's F-51; | 21 | | rather than abandon his aircraft, he continued his attack under |
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| 1 | | heavy fire; after his aircraft was again damaged, he dove to | 2 | | his death onto the enemy gun battery; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Louis Sebille was formally awarded the Medal of | 4 | | Honor in a ceremony at March Air Force Base in Riverside | 5 | | County, California, in late August of 1951; General Hoyt | 6 | | Vandenberg, the United States Air Force Chief of Staff, | 7 | | presented the medal to Sebille's widowed wife and 19 month old | 8 | | son; Sebille was buried at Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park | 9 | | with full military honors; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Louis Sebille was the first person in the Air | 11 | | Force to be awarded the medal since the branch's creation in | 12 | | 1947; only 4 Air Force personnel would win the medal for action | 13 | | during the Korean War, all of them posthumously; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, William Frishe Dean, Sr. was born on August 1, | 15 | | 1899, in Carlyle; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, William Dean graduated from the University of | 17 | | California at Berkeley in 1922; after being commissioned as a | 18 | | second lieutenant in the California National Guard in 1921, he | 19 | | was tendered a regular Army commission on October 18, 1923; he | 20 | | was subsequently promoted to brigadier general in 1942 and then | 21 | | to major general in 1943; he later served first as assistant | 22 | | division commander and later as division commander of the 44th |
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| 1 | | Infantry Division; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, In 1944, while serving in southern Germany and | 3 | | Austria, Major General Dean's troops captured 30,000 prisoners | 4 | | and helped force the surrender of the German 19th Army; he won | 5 | | the Distinguished Service Cross for bravery during that action; | 6 | | and | 7 | | WHEREAS, In October of 1947, Major General Dean became the | 8 | | military governor of South Korea; in 1948, he took command of | 9 | | the 7th Infantry Division and moved it from Korea to Japan; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, After serving as chief of staff of the U.S. 8th | 11 | | Army, Major General Dean took command of the 24th Infantry | 12 | | Division, then headquartered at Kokura on the southern Japanese | 13 | | island of Kyushu, in October of 1949; when the Korean War began | 14 | | in June of 1950, the 24th Infantry Division was the first | 15 | | American ground combat unit to be committed; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Major General Dean arrived in Korea on July 3, | 17 | | 1950, and established his headquarters at Taejon; his orders | 18 | | were to fight a delaying action against the advancing North | 19 | | Korean People's Army; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Although he planned to withdraw from Taejon, Major | 21 | | General Dean was asked by General Walton H. Walker, the |
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| 1 | | commander of the U.S. 8th Army, to hold that city until July | 2 | | 20, 1950, in order to buy time necessary for deploying other | 3 | | American units from Japan; his regiments had been decimated in | 4 | | earlier fighting, and Dean personally led tank killer teams | 5 | | armed with the newly arrived 3.5-inch rocket launchers to | 6 | | destroy the attacking North Korean T-34 tanks; he gained | 7 | | acclaim through exploits such as attacking and destroying an | 8 | | enemy tank armed with only a hand grenade and a handgun; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, On July 20, 1950, as his division fell back from | 10 | | Taejon, Major General Dean became separated from his men, | 11 | | forcing him to travel alone in the woods around the countryside | 12 | | during the day and traveling at night for over a month; on | 13 | | August 25, 1950, after a hand to hand struggle with 15 North | 14 | | Koreans, he was captured; he remained a POW with the North | 15 | | Koreans until his release on September 4, 1953; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, In 1951, Congress voted to bestow the Medal of | 17 | | Honor to Major General Dean for his actions during the defense | 18 | | of Taejon; on January 9, 1951, the medal was given to his wife, | 19 | | Mildred Dean, his son, William Dean Jr., and his daughter, | 20 | | Marjorie June Dean, by President Harry Truman; Major General | 21 | | Dean was still reported missing in action in Korea; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, After the July 27, 1953 Armistice Agreement, Major | 23 | | General Dean remained in North Korea as a prisoner of war for |
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| 1 | | several more months while the armistice was finalized; he was | 2 | | returned to UN forces at Panmunjom during Operation Big Switch | 3 | | on September 4, 1953; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Three months after his return from Korea, Major | 5 | | General Dean was assigned as the Deputy Commanding General of | 6 | | the United States 6th Army at the Presidio of San Francisco in | 7 | | California; he held this post for 2 years until his retirement | 8 | | from active duty on October 31, 1955; upon retirement, he was | 9 | | awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge for his front line service | 10 | | in World War II and Korea; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Major General Dean lived a quiet life in San | 12 | | Francisco after his retirement, and died on August 24, 1981, at | 13 | | the age of 82; he was buried in San Francisco National Cemetery | 14 | | in the Presidio of San Francisco, next to his wife; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Edward C. Krzyzowski was born on January 16, 1914, | 16 | | in Chicago; he served as a captain in the United States Army's | 17 | | Company B, 9th Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division; | 18 | | and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Captain Krzyzowski was awarded the Medal of Honor | 20 | | posthumously for his service near Tondul, Korea from August 31 | 21 | | to September 3, 1951; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Captain Krzyzowski distinguished himself by | 2 | | conspicuous gallantry and indomitable courage above and beyond | 3 | | the call of duty in action against the enemy as commanding | 4 | | officer of Company B; spearheading an assault against strongly | 5 | | defended Hill 700, his company came under vicious crossfire and | 6 | | grenade attack from enemy bunkers; creeping up the fire-swept | 7 | | hill, he personally eliminated one bunker with his grenades and | 8 | | wiped out a second with carbine fire; forced to retire to more | 9 | | tenable positions for the night, his company resumed the attack | 10 | | the following day, gaining several hundred yards and inflicting | 11 | | numerous casualties; once overwhelmed by the numerically | 12 | | superior hostile force, he ordered his men to evacuate the | 13 | | wounded and move back; providing protective fire for their safe | 14 | | withdrawal, he was wounded again by grenade fragments, but | 15 | | refused evacuation and continued to direct the defense; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Captain Krzyzowski was buried with full military | 17 | | honors at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleums in | 18 | | Justice; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Richard Gene Wilson was born on August 19, 1931, | 20 | | in Marion; after his junior year, he left high school to join | 21 | | the Army; he enlisted on August 19, 1948, his 17th birthday, | 22 | | and just before leaving for Korea, he married Yvonna Lea Fowler | 23 | | on August 29, 1950; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Richard Wilson served in Korea as a private first | 2 | | class with the 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment; on October 21, | 3 | | 1950, he was attached to Company I when the unit was ambushed | 4 | | while conducting a reconnaissance in force mission near Opa-ri; | 5 | | and | 6 | | WHEREAS, PFC Wilson exposed himself to hostile fire in | 7 | | order to treat the many casualties; when the company began to | 8 | | withdraw, he helped evacuate the wounded; after the withdrawal | 9 | | was complete, he learned that a soldier left behind and | 10 | | believed dead had been spotted trying to crawl to safety; | 11 | | unarmed and against the advice of his comrades, he returned to | 12 | | the ambush site in an attempt to rescue the wounded man; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, PFC Wilson's body was found 2 days later, lying | 14 | | next to that of the man he had tried to save; for these | 15 | | actions, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on | 16 | | August 2, 1951; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Several U.S. military buildings have been named in | 18 | | PFC Wilson's honor, including the Richard G. Wilson Memorial | 19 | | Gymnasium in the Kanoka Barracks near Osaka, Japan; the Richard | 20 | | G. Wilson U.S. Army Reserve Center in Marion; the PFC Richard | 21 | | G. Wilson Training Barracks at Fort Sam Houston, Texas; the | 22 | | Richard G. Wilson Consolidated Troop Medical Clinic in Fort | 23 | | Leonard Wood, Missouri; and the Wilson Theater in Fort |
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| 1 | | Campbell, Kentucky; among the memorials in his honor are | 2 | | "America's Medical Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen in Peace and | 3 | | War" by Eloise Engle (1967) and a memorial to Wilson in Cape | 4 | | County Park (1988); other structures named for him include the | 5 | | Richard G. Wilson Elementary School in Fort Benning, Georgia, | 6 | | and a postal distribution center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri; | 7 | | and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Illinois Route 136 is an east-west road in | 9 | | northwestern Illinois; therefore, be it
| 10 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 11 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 12 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate Illinois Route 136 | 13 | | as the Illinois Korean War Medal of Honor Highway in honor of | 14 | | the memory and sacrifices of William G. Windrich, James I. | 15 | | Poynter, Lester Hammond, John E. Kilmer, Louis J. Sebille, | 16 | | William F. Dean, Edward C. Krzyzowski, and Richard G. Wilson; | 17 | | and be it further
| 18 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation | 19 | | is requested to erect at suitable locations, consistent with | 20 | | State and federal regulations, appropriate plaques or signs | 21 | | giving notice of the name of the Illinois Korean War Medal of | 22 | | Honor Highway; and be it further |
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 2 | | delivered to the Secretary of the Illinois Department of | 3 | | Transportation, the families of William G. Windrich, James I. | 4 | | Poynter, Lester Hammond, John E. Kilmer, Louis J. Sebille, | 5 | | William F. Dean, Edward C. Krzyzowski, and Richard G. Wilson, | 6 | | and Hershall E. Lee, KW60 Ambassador of the United States | 7 | | Department of Defense.
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