HR0101 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0101 LRB094 10321 CSA 40591 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the State of Illinois were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Warren V. Hileman of Anna on January 30, 2005; and

WHEREAS, Warren Hileman, age 103, was the last remaining World War I veteran residing in any of the State's veteran homes, and he may have been the only one in the State; and

WHEREAS, It was wanderlust that led him to enlist in the war when he was just 17, and he found himself sent to Siberia as part of the American Expeditionary Force; he landed in Vladivostok on September 6, 1919, a bit shy of his 18th birthday, and his unit remained in Siberia until 1921, long after the war had ended in November 1918; and

WHEREAS, From Siberia, his outfit was transferred to the Philippine Islands after going through China and seeing the Great Wall; he was briefly in Nagasaki, Japan, and later was transferred to Scofield Barracks in Hawaii; he was discharged from service in 1922 at Fort McDowell on San Francisco Bay; and

WHEREAS, After working upstate, he moved back to his native Union County when he retired at age 70; he moved into the Illinois Veterans Home in Anna in 1995; he continued to drive to Jonesboro to visit his friends and family well into his 90s, giving up driving at age 98; he was a life member of Carroll P. Foster VFW Post 3455; and

WHEREAS, In January 2004, 84 years after the Great War ended, he received the World War I Victory Medal; his unit, Company B, 27th Infantry, was involved in a hostile encounter in Posolskaya which entitled him to the medal; January 14, 2004 was declared Warren V. Hileman Day in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his wife, Mae Elizabeth, who died in 1989; and

WHEREAS, The passing of Warren V. Hileman is felt by all who knew and loved him, especially his daughter and son-in-law, Janet and Joseph Hardin; his two grandchildren, his great-grandchildren; and other relatives; and

WHEREAS, His bravery and willingness to serve his country will never be forgotten; it is because of true heroes like Warren Hileman that each U.S. citizen has the freedoms they enjoy; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that together with his family, friends, fellow members of the United States armed forces, and the grateful citizens of this State and this great nation, we mourn the passing of Warren V. Hileman and we extend to his family our sincerest condolences; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to his family as an expression of our deepest sympathy.