Bill Text: VA HJR942 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Celebrating the life of Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator William Ryan Owens.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 51-32)
Status: (Passed) 2017-02-24 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ942ER) [HJR942 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2017-HJR942-Introduced.html
WHEREAS, Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator William Ryan Owens, a decorated member of the elite United States Navy SEAL Team 6, was killed in action while serving his country in Yemen on January 29, 2017; and
WHEREAS, a native of Peoria, Illinois, Ryan Owens attended Illinois Valley Central High School, where he played catcher on the baseball team and was a member of the football team; and
WHEREAS, Ryan Owens fulfilled his lifelong dream to serve his country as a member of the United States Navy when he enlisted in August of 1998; he graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training in 2002 and had been stationed in Virginia Beach as a SEAL since 2007; and
WHEREAS, in 12 deployments, Ryan Owens had earned the Navy/Marine Corps Medal, three Bronze Stars, a Joint Service Commendation Medal, and a Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal, among many other decorations; and
WHEREAS, Ryan Owens' courageous service and sacrifice is a reminder of the dangers faced by American men and women in uniform around the world, who voluntarily go into harm's way in the defense of freedom and liberty; and
WHEREAS, Ryan Owens will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his loving wife, Carryn; their children, Brooke, Luke, and Taryn; his father, William; his grandmother, Evelyn; and numerous other family members, friends, and fellow SEALs; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator William Ryan Owens, a United States Navy SEAL who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator William Ryan Owens as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for his memory.
