Bill Text: IL HR0253 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Congratulates Dean Preston on being awarded the French Legion d'honneur, France's highest distinction awarded to those who have done great deeds for France.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-05-04 - Resolution Adopted [HR0253 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-HR0253-Introduced.html
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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to congratulate Dean Preston on being | ||||||
| 4 | awarded the French Legion d'honneur, France's highest | ||||||
| 5 | distinction awarded to those who have done great deeds
for | ||||||
| 6 | France; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Dean Preston graduated from Pekin Community High | ||||||
| 8 | School in 1942, and along with his brother, Jim, voluntarily
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| 9 | entered the service ahead of the draft; after basic training, | ||||||
| 10 | he was sent
to advanced radio repair school, where he was | ||||||
| 11 | trained to integrate wired telephones and field sets with
a | ||||||
| 12 | wireless radio network; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, Dean Preston was assigned as a corporal to U.S. | ||||||
| 14 | Army, 927th Signal Battalion, Separate, Tactical Air Command; | ||||||
| 15 | in August of 1944, he and his battalion were assigned to | ||||||
| 16 | support Operation Dragoon, the invasion force of Southern | ||||||
| 17 | France; in December of 1944, he found himself in "no-man's | ||||||
| 18 | land" when a German winter
counter-attack through the Ardennes | ||||||
| 19 | Forest in concert with the Battle
of the Bulge and a German | ||||||
| 20 | operation that headed south into Eastern France called
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| 21 | Operation Nordwind converged in the same area; miraculously, | ||||||
| 22 | he survived, and as the war was coming to an end in March of | ||||||
| 23 | 1945, he joined with the 101st Airborne Division, whose task | ||||||
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| 1 | was to hunt down any fanatical German resistance; and
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Dean Preston departed the European Theater of | ||||||
| 3 | Operations from
Marseille on November 21, 1945 and arrived | ||||||
| 4 | back in the United States on December 4, 1945; following the | ||||||
| 5 | war, fellow 927th Signal Battalion Radioman Ted Richardson | ||||||
| 6 | credited Dean
with saving his life; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, During his time in the
service, Dean Preston | ||||||
| 8 | earned the American Campaign Medal, the European African | ||||||
| 9 | Middle East
Campaign Medal with five Campaign Stars for | ||||||
| 10 | Northern France, Rome-Arno, Southern France, Rhineland,
and | ||||||
| 11 | Central Europe, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the World War II | ||||||
| 12 | Victory Medal, and the Meritorious Unit Commendation citation; | ||||||
| 13 | he also earned three Overseas Bars and qualified as
an Expert | ||||||
| 14 | with the Carbine Rifle and Sub-Machine Gun; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, Dean Preston graduated from the University of | ||||||
| 16 | Illinois with a Bachelor of Science in
Business Administration | ||||||
| 17 | in 1949; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, Dean Preston was employed by the American | ||||||
| 19 | Distilling Company in Pekin for
28 years, serving as a | ||||||
| 20 | bottling superintendent; he later continued in that capacity | ||||||
| 21 | for Midwest Grain for seven
additional years, formally | ||||||
| 22 | retiring in 1987; since that time, he has and continues to work | ||||||
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| 1 | part-time as a
greeter and driver for the Preston-Hanley | ||||||
| 2 | Funeral Home in Pekin; and
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| 3 | WHEREAS, Dean Preston was a 12-year member of the Tazewell | ||||||
| 4 | County Sheriff's Auxiliary Patrol; he is a Life Member of | ||||||
| 5 | Empire Lodge 126, Ancient Free &
Accepted Masons of Illinois | ||||||
| 6 | in Pekin and a member of
William Schaefer American Legion Post | ||||||
| 7 | 44; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Dean Preston is a former member of the Pekin
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| 9 | Barbershop Chorus, a youth counselor with Junior Achievement, | ||||||
| 10 | and the Drum Sergeant of the Shrine
Kiltie Band in Peoria; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Dean Preston and his wife, Alberta, had 66 | ||||||
| 12 | wonderful years together before her passing; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, Dean Preston will turn 99 years of age in | ||||||
| 14 | November of 2023; therefore, be it
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| 15 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 16 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 17 | we congratulate Dean Preston on being awarded the French | ||||||
| 18 | Legion d'honneur, and we wish him many more wonderful years; | ||||||
| 19 | and be it further
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| 20 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
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| 1 | presented to Dean Preston as a symbol of our respect and | ||||||
| 2 | esteem.
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