Full Text of SR0543 096th General Assembly
SR0543 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 |
| learn of the death of
Paul Harding Eagon; and
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| WHEREAS, Paul Eagon was born on August 8, 1922, in a farm | 5 |
| house in the tiny crossroads village of Deer Lick, | 6 |
| Pennsylvania; his parents were Mary Pansy Phillips Eagon and | 7 |
| Francis Jennings Eagon; he attended high school and served on | 8 |
| the yearbook staff at Center Township High School in | 9 |
| Rogersville, Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1941; and
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| WHEREAS, After high school, Paul Eagon went to work in a | 11 |
| steel mill in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania; he then went back home | 12 |
| and attended Waynesburg College; he drove a cab to help pay for | 13 |
| his tuition, books, and housing; he also attended Lake Forest | 14 |
| College and was a graduate of the Industrial Management | 15 |
| Institute of Lake Forest College; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, Paul Eagon served his country with pride and | 17 |
| distinction as a member of the United States Armed Forces; | 18 |
| after a stint in the U.S. Army Reserves, he went into the U.S. | 19 |
| Army and was sent to Fort McClellan, Alabama, for his basic | 20 |
| training in the summer of 1943; after basic training, he was | 21 |
| sent to the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, to | 22 |
| participate in the ASTP program; after a year, the ASTP program |
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| was shut down and he was sent to Camp Shelby at Hattiesburg, | 2 |
| Mississippi; and
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| WHEREAS, In November of 1944, Paul Eagon was sent to | 4 |
| Germany with the 69th Infantry Division, where he served as a | 5 |
| machine gun squad leader; during his time in Germany, his unit | 6 |
| broke through the Siegfried Line and fought in battles for | 7 |
| Colditz Castle and the City of Leipzig, which culminated with | 8 |
| his unit meeting with the Red Army at the Elbe River; he was | 9 |
| awarded the Bronze Star, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the | 10 |
| American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern | 11 |
| Campaign Medal with Bronze Star Device, the World War II | 12 |
| Victory Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, | 13 |
| the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Honorable Service Lapel | 14 |
| Button for his meritorious service; many of his exploits during | 15 |
| the war are included in the book, "The Stories of Our War"; and
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| WHEREAS, After World War II, Paul Eagon was transferred to | 17 |
| the 29th Infantry Division; he was later transferred to the | 18 |
| 78th Infantry Division in Berlin, where he became a Battalion | 19 |
| Sergeant Major; and
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| WHEREAS, After returning to the United States, Paul Eagon | 21 |
| received a letter from a former Army buddy, Charles M. | 22 |
| Drinkwater, Jr., urging him to come to Waukegan to work for | 23 |
| Drinkwater, Inc.; after accepting his offer and working there, |
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| he went to work for the U.S. Envelope Co. in North Chicago for | 2 |
| 10 years; he then accepted a position from Hammermill Paper Co. | 3 |
| and worked in their Chicago office, serving as District Sales | 4 |
| Manager for the Midwest area until his retirement in 1990; and
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| WHEREAS, Paul Eagon was a member of numerous civic | 6 |
| organizations, including the Junior Achievement Club, the | 7 |
| Indian Guides, the Boy Scouts at Greenwood School, the | 8 |
| Waukegan-North Chicago Jaycees, the Zion-Benton Jaycees, the | 9 |
| Sunrise Organization, the Jack Benny Statue Committee, the | 10 |
| Genesee Theatre, the American Legion Homer Dahringer Post #281, | 11 |
| the Fighting 69th Infantry Division Association, the Waukegan | 12 |
| Historical Society, and the Carnegie Preservation Project; he | 13 |
| served as a member of the Board of Trustees at the First United | 14 |
| Methodist Church for many years; he served as an usher for more | 15 |
| than 25 years and was a dishwasher at the Free Meal Program; he | 16 |
| was also a member of the Greene County Historical Society and | 17 |
| the Cornerstone Genealogical Society in Waynesburg, | 18 |
| Pennsylvania; and
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| WHEREAS, Paul Eagon and his wife were the recipients of the | 20 |
| Waukegan Exchange Club's Golden Deeds Award in 2008; and
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| WHEREAS, Paul Eagon was preceded in death by his parents | 22 |
| and his brother, Donald Jack Eagon; and |
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| WHEREAS, Paul Eagon is survived by his wife of 60 years, | 2 |
| Elaine Manzke Eagon; his sons, Douglas P. Eagon (Jane), | 3 |
| Gregory, Jeffrey (Kathy), and Philip (Kristine Schell); his 9 | 4 |
| grandsons; and his 7 great-grandchildren; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL | 6 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 7 |
| his family and friends, the passing of Paul Harding Eagon; and | 8 |
| be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 10 |
| presented to the family of Paul Eagon as an expression of our | 11 |
| sympathy.
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