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92_HR0415
LRB9209098RHrh
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are honored to recognize the distinguished
4 military careers of Jason Wildfong, Jay Wildfong, Jr., and
5 Jay Wildfong, Sr. in their service to the State of Illinois
6 and the United States of America; and
7 WHEREAS, The Wildfong ancestry and family record of
8 military service goes back to the French and Indian War in
9 the 1700s; and
10 WHEREAS, Jay D. Wildfong, Sr. is a veteran of World War
11 II; he joined the United States Navy in January 1944 before
12 graduating from high school; in March 1944, just before
13 D-Day, he was stationed in San Diego, California and at sea
14 in the Pacific Theater where he manned guns on three
15 different supply ships for our troops throughout the South
16 Pacific; his last service was an assignment to the United
17 States Fleet aboard the Walter B. Cobb in 1945; he was
18 honorably discharged in 1946; and
19 WHEREAS, Jay D. Wildfong II was raised in the shadow of
20 World War II; he started his training in 1971 at the tail end
21 of the Vietnam War and received advanced training at Fort Dix
22 in New Jersey; he went on to engineers training at West Point
23 and then served with the B Company-961st Engineers in Racine,
24 Wisconsin; he was then an advisor in St. Louis Missouri; from
25 1984 through 1988, he worked at the Army Reserve Center in
26 Racine and Kenosha, Wisconsin; from 1988 through 1994, he
27 served as Operation NCO for "B Company" of the 961st
28 Engineers Battalion, where he received numerous awards and
29 merits; his most current service was with the 863rd Engineers
30 Battalion in Kankakee, Illinois from 1995 until his
31 retirement in December 2000; while in Kankakee, he earned
32 the love and respect of the community due to his involvement;
-2- LRB9209098RHrh
1 he and his son, Jason, vertically "repelled" a well-known
2 landmark on the Southeast end of Kankakee during one
3 celebration; he was also concerned about survival, so he made
4 sure Hum-V's were available for the local and State law
5 enforcement during terrible blizzards that made I-57 and
6 State Rt. 17 unpassable; in addition, he was instrumental in
7 setting up Memorial Day events where the local communities
8 would come to the reserve center to learn about the United
9 States Army and its personnel; he also assisted the local
10 police in firearm training with years of range experience and
11 weapons training; and
12 WHEREAS, On March 12, 2001, Sgt. Specialist-Ordinance
13 Disposal Technician Jason Douglas Wildfong was killed in a
14 bombing accident in the country of Kuwait; a few years
15 earlier in the State of Kentucky, he was seriously injured
16 but miraculously survived a Blackhawk helicopter crash during
17 training in which six United States Servicemen were killed;
18 he gave his life in the service of his country; and
19 WHEREAS, Jay Wildfong, Sr., Jay Wildfong II, and Jason
20 Wildfong all shared a deep dedication and loyalty to the
21 United States of America and have proven it through years of
22 military service; they have have put their lives at risk, and
23 even sacrificed their lives as the ultimate sign of loyalty
24 to their State and Country; therefore, be it
25 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
26 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
27 we do hereby honor and thank Jay Wildfong, Sr., Jay Wildfong
28 II, and Jason Wildfong for their distinguished military
29 service to the State of Illinois and the United States of
30 America, and we join with the family and friends of Jason
31 Wildfong in mourning his tragic and untimely death; and be it
32 further
-3- LRB9209098RHrh
1 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2 presented to Jay D. Wildfong, Sr., Jay D. Wildfong II, and
3 the family of Jason Wildfong as an expression of our esteem.