Bill Text: IL HR1032 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Honors James Pfafflin for his service to his country in the United States Merchant Marine from 1944 to 1948.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-04-30 - Resolution Adopted [HR1032 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2013-HR1032-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 honor James Pfafflin for his service to | ||||||
4 | his country in the United States Merchant Marine from 1944 to | ||||||
5 | 1948; and
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6 | WHEREAS, During World War II, the ships and men of the | ||||||
7 | United States Merchant Marine transported across the oceans of | ||||||
8 | the world the vast quantities of war materiel, supplies, | ||||||
9 | equipment, and troops needed to fight and win the war; the men | ||||||
10 | of the United States Merchant Marine were civilian volunteers | ||||||
11 | who nonetheless died proportionally in numbers that rivaled or | ||||||
12 | exceeded any branch of the uniformed military; like the United | ||||||
13 | States Navy Armed Guard with whom they sailed, the unsung men | ||||||
14 | of the United States Merchant Marine made possible the Allied | ||||||
15 | victory in World War II; and
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16 | WHEREAS, During World War II, United States Merchant Marine | ||||||
17 | ships faced danger from submarines, mines, armed raiders and | ||||||
18 | destroyers, aircraft, "kamikaze", and the elements; about | ||||||
19 | 8,300 mariners were killed at sea, 12,000 were wounded, of whom | ||||||
20 | at least 1,100 died from their wounds, and 663 men and women | ||||||
21 | were taken prisoner; one in 26 mariners serving aboard merchant | ||||||
22 | ships in World War II died in the line of duty, suffering a | ||||||
23 | greater percentage of war-related deaths than all other United |
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1 | States services; casualties were kept secret during the war to | ||||||
2 | keep information about their success from the enemy; and
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3 | WHEREAS, James Pfafflin's first voyage with the United | ||||||
4 | States Merchant Marine was on a ship that left out of San | ||||||
5 | Francisco; the ships brought barrels of gasoline to small | ||||||
6 | islands in the Pacific that couldn't store it, allowing planes | ||||||
7 | that landed on the island to fuel up; the ships also brought | ||||||
8 | blankets, food, and other supplies to people on the islands; | ||||||
9 | and
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10 | WHEREAS, James Pfafflin serves as a model of hard work, | ||||||
11 | integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of | ||||||
12 | Illinois; therefore, be it
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13 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
14 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
15 | we honor James Pfafflin for his service to his country in the | ||||||
16 | United States Merchant Marine; and be it further
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17 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
18 | presented to James Pfafflin as a symbol of our esteem and | ||||||
19 | respect.
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