Bill Text: VA SJR120 | 2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending Peter Reynolds.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-02-26 - Bill text as passed Senate and House (SJ120ER) [SJR120 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-SJR120-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Peter Reynolds, a patriotic veteran and a cherished member of the community in Henrico County, celebrates his 100th birthday in 2024; and
WHEREAS, Peter Reynolds was born at his grandparents' home in Port Reading, New Jersey, on July 11, 1924; the simple brick and stucco house was located on Roosevelt Avenue in a rural area then known as East Rahway; and
WHEREAS, growing up during the Great Depression, Peter Reynolds learned the value of hard work and responsibility at a young age; after graduating from Woodbridge High School in 1942, he signed up for the draft, and ultimately served the nation as a member of the United States Army during World War II; and
WHEREAS, Peter Reynolds completed his training at various camps around the southeast United States, then deployed to England where, in 1944, a few days after his twentieth birthday, he boarded a cargo ship and crossed the English Channel as part of General George S. Patton's Third United States Army; and
WHEREAS, Peter Reynolds served as cannoneer for an M7 Priest self-propelled artillery vehicle in the Fourth Armored Division and participated in the dash across France after the breakout from Normandy; and
WHEREAS, Peter Reynolds saw combat during the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne, Belgium, and was wounded in action on February 24, 1945, when he was hit by mortar fire in Trier, Germany; he underwent surgery in England and still carries a small fragment of mortar shell in his chest; and
WHEREAS, after his honorable military service, Peter Reynolds earned a degree in journalism from Rutgers University through the GI Bill, and he enjoyed a long and successful career in the newspaper, magazine, and public relations industries; and
WHEREAS, Peter Reynolds married his late wife, Phyllis, in 1954, and the couple proudly raised four children, all of whom attended colleges and universities in Virginia; and
WHEREAS, Peter Reynolds and his family moved to Annandale in 1974, and after his retirement from the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1990, he and Phyllis settled in Port Royal, where he served as president of the Portobago Bay Homeowners Association; and
WHEREAS, Peter Reynolds is a current resident of the Discovery Village at West End in Henrico County, where he leads a poetry circle and is an enthusiastic participant of singalong sessions; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Peter Reynolds on the occasion of his 100th birthday in 2024; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Peter Reynolds as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for his legacy of service to the Commonwealth and the nation.
