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HR1163 |
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LRB094 20122 HSS 57838 r |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Martin F. Hawkins valiantly served his country as |
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| a member of the United States Army from 1943 until 1945; he |
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| served as an infantryman in Company G, 307th Infantry Regiment, |
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| 77th Infantry Division; his combat experience included action |
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| in Guam, the Philippines, and Okinawa, which was the last great |
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| battle of the Second World War; and
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| WHEREAS, In April of 1945, Martin Hawkins was wounded by |
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| shrapnel on the island of Ie Shima, which is part of the |
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| Okinawa Island chain, an island the 77th Division was assigned |
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| to recapture; he was evacuated to the Army hospital on the |
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| island of Saipan, where he received a Purple Heart medal for |
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| his wounds; he was transferred to Ordnance Company in Hawaii |
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| upon release from the hospital and was promoted to Tech |
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| Sergeant 5 while with this company; and
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| WHEREAS, Martin Hawkins was released from the service late |
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| in 1945 from Camp Grant and
returned home to Chicago; his |
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| decorations include the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the |
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| Pacific Campaign medal with three battle stars, the Good |
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| Conduct Medal, the Combat Infantry Badge, the Expert Infantry |
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| Badge, and the World War II Victory Medal; and
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| WHEREAS, Like so many veterans of World War II, he did not |
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| receive proper recognition of his service; to further |
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| complicate matters, a fire in the Records Processing Center in |
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| St. Louis in 1973 destroyed the records of thousands of |
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| veterans; and
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| WHEREAS, In 2006, the Veterans Administration restored the |
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| medals to Mr. Hawkins; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE |
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| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that |