Bill Text: GA HR430 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Jones, Joey; U.S. Marine Sergeant; commend and invite to House
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 6-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2011-03-16 - House Passed/Adopted [HR430 Detail]
Download: Georgia-2011-HR430-Introduced.html
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House
Resolution 430
By:
Representatives Williams of the
4th,
Dickson of the
6th,
Meadows of the
5th,
Yates of the
73rd,
Neal of the
1st,
and others
A
RESOLUTION
Recognizing
and commending United States Marine Sergeant Joey Jones and inviting him to be
recognized by the House of Representatives; and for other
purposes.
WHEREAS,
U.S. Marine Sgt. Joey Jones, a native of Dawnville, Georgia, has served as a
guardian of this nation's freedom and liberty with the United States Marine
Corps, valiantly and courageously protecting his fellow Americans by serving in
Afghanistan as a Marine Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technician;
and
WHEREAS,
Sgt. Jones joined the Marine Corps in 2004 after graduating from Southeast High
School, serving in a variety of roles from a communications technician to a
machine gunner in a security detail and later becoming an EOD technician by
completing a nearly year-long course in the field aspects of nuclear,
conventional, and biological explosives along with their electronic components;
and
WHEREAS,
Sgt. Jones deployed to Afghanistan last spring, and he and his Marine Fox
Company were featured on ABC's
Nightline
news program in which a news crew followed Sgt. Jones and his partner through an
Afghanistan town as they prepared to detonate a roadside bomb; and
WHEREAS,
on August 6, 2010, he experienced a life-changing blast from an IED during a
six-day sweep working nonstop in the southern Afghanistan town of Safar Bazaar
to secure the area and locate and detonate any IEDs; and
WHEREAS,
after the blast, he knew he had lost both legs and had incurred serious trauma
to both arms and asked a fellow Marine to pray with him; and
WHEREAS,
he was taken by a Medevac helicopter to a military hospital in Germany, where he
stayed for two days while his condition was stabilized, and then flown to the
National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, where he was in intensive
care and experienced unbearable pain; and
WHEREAS,
he was then transferred to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he has made
physical strides daily and faces a long and arduous recovery process of physical
therapy and rehabilitation; and
WHEREAS,
he has his devoted parents, Joey and Joyce, sister Marsha, and girlfriend, Meg
Garrison, to lean on for support and encouragement and also draws strength and
motivation from his much loved son, Braiden; and
WHEREAS,
in spite of his circumstances, Sgt. Jones is working with Marine officials on a
proposal to return to the military and Afghanistan as an EOD technician as an
instructor or to conduct range sweeps; and
WHEREAS,
Sgt. Jones, his story, and his strength and positive attitude provide an
inspiration to the people of Dalton and of this state and are embodied in Sgt.
Jones's words when he stated: "I can't say I'm a happier person, but I am a
happy person because I do have the people that I care about most in my life
around me"; and
WHEREAS,
U.S. Marine Sgt. Joey Jones embodies the spirit of service, willing to find
meaning in something greater than himself, and it is abundantly fitting and
proper that the outstanding accomplishments and sacrifices of this special
Georgian be honored appropriately.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of
this body express their most profound appreciation for U.S. Marine Sgt. Joey
Jones and invite him to be recognized by the House of Representatives at a date
and time to be determined by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized
and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to U.S. Marine
Sgt. Joey Jones.
