Full Text of SR0702 101st General Assembly
SR0702 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | SR0702 | | LRB101 13442 ALS 62455 r |
|
| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of Albert Leon Mampre, the last surviving | 4 | | medic from the so-called "Band of Brothers," who passed away on | 5 | | May 31, 2019; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Albert Mampre grew up in Oak Park, the son of | 7 | | immigrants from the Armenian diaspora; his mother, Viola, came | 8 | | from Baghdad; his father, Nishan, came from Turkey and repaired | 9 | | rugs and farm equipment; after graduating from Oak Park High | 10 | | School, he pursued ministerial studies at Ohio Northern and | 11 | | Hardin-Simmons University in Texas; he married Virginia | 12 | | Joboulian in 1945; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Albert Mampre enlisted in the United States Army | 14 | | in 1942; during WWII, he was part of the 2nd Battalion, 506th | 15 | | Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, | 16 | | which was featured in Stephen Ambrose's book Band of Brothers; | 17 | | and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Albert Mampre's unit jumped into Holland as part | 19 | | of Operation Market Garden, where he was twice wounded by a | 20 | | sniper as he went to the aid of a wounded lieutenant; he was | 21 | | subsequently transported to an English hospital; after | 22 | | healing, he returned to the front in France; during the Battle |
| | | SR0702 | - 2 - | LRB101 13442 ALS 62455 r |
|
| 1 | | of the Bulge, he served at Bastogne, Belgium at Regimental | 2 | | Headquarters across the plaza from General McAuliffe; he moved | 3 | | with the regiment all the way to occupying the Eagle's Nest in | 4 | | Berchtesgaden; at the Berchtesgaden Hof, he became the House | 5 | | Physician; he ended the war in Paris and Marseilles and then | 6 | | flew home to be discharged from Ft. Sheridan; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Albert Mampre received many honors for his war | 8 | | service, including the Purple Heart, the Purple Heart with | 9 | | bronze oak leaf cluster, the Distinguished Member of the 506th | 10 | | Infantry Regiment honor by Order of the Secretary of the United | 11 | | States Army, the European African Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon | 12 | | with four bronze stars, the European Campaign Medal, the WWII | 13 | | Victory Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal, and the Legion of | 14 | | Merit from the State of Illinois in 2017; he received several | 15 | | Unit Citations, including two Presidential Unit Citations, the | 16 | | French Croix de Guerre with Palm and Fourregere, the Belgian | 17 | | Croix de Guerre with Palm and Fourregere, and the Orange | 18 | | Lanyard from the Netherlands; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, After the war, Albert Mampre resumed his studies | 20 | | at Pepperdine University and UCLA, where he studied psychology; | 21 | | he pursued post-graduate studies in psychology and | 22 | | social/cultural anthropology at the University of Chicago, | 23 | | where his efforts brought the opportunity to work on a project | 24 | | at International Harvester (IH); he worked in management |
| | | SR0702 | - 3 - | LRB101 13442 ALS 62455 r |
|
| 1 | | development and public relations at IH alongside his family | 2 | | psychology practice; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Albert Mampre was active in many leadership | 4 | | capacities in the community and at his church; he served as | 5 | | Chairman of the Human Relations Committee in the Evanston | 6 | | School District and spent years leading Junior Achievement | 7 | | programs and mentoring Boy Scouts; he devoted many hours to | 8 | | fundraising for veterans and children's organizations for the | 9 | | last 20 years; he attended events all over the world on behalf | 10 | | of veterans as an in-demand speaker, presenter, and eyewitness | 11 | | to history; he worked with law enforcement and emergency medic | 12 | | response teams and visited the wounded at Walter Reed and | 13 | | Bethesda Naval Hospitals; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Albert Mampre reconnected with his fellow | 15 | | Screaming Eagles in 2001, when the men of the 101st Airborne | 16 | | 506th Easy Company were invited to The Oscars for the HBO | 17 | | miniseries Band of Brothers; never one to glorify his own | 18 | | accomplishments, he was still able to articulate the | 19 | | challenging circumstances that the soldiers faced, how they | 20 | | felt, and how lucky they were to return home; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Albert Mampre shared love, laughter, an | 22 | | inquisitiveness about the world, and a commitment to family and | 23 | | faith with his wife; in 1948, before they had a family, they |
| | | SR0702 | - 4 - | LRB101 13442 ALS 62455 r |
|
| 1 | | took a three-month bicycle tour of Europe, witnessing its | 2 | | recovery from war; they were interested in gardening, music, | 3 | | theater, art, advances in science, and archeological digs; he | 4 | | loved his English setter Keebler, watching Westerns, and eating | 5 | | Baskin-Robbins ice cream and Armenian specialties, including | 6 | | rice pilaf and lahmajun; he loved people and gave much of | 7 | | himself to others; many were fortunate to experience his | 8 | | charisma, wit, humor, charm, and overall kindness; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Albert Mampre was preceded in death by his wife of | 10 | | 63 years, Virginia; and his daughter, Elizabeth Celebucki; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Albert Mampre is survived by his daughters, | 12 | | Virginia E. Mampre and Susan D. (Glen Wright) Mampre; his | 13 | | granddaughter, Anayis J. Mampre Wright; his brother, Edward | 14 | | Mampre; his son-in-law, Jim Celebucki; and many nieces and | 15 | | nephews and their children; therefore, be it
| 16 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | 17 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 18 | | Albert Leon Mampre and extend our sincere condolences to his | 19 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 20 | | further
| 21 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 22 | | presented to the family of Albert Mampre as an expression of |
| | | SR0702 | - 5 - | LRB101 13442 ALS 62455 r |
|
| 1 | | our deepest sympathy.
|
|