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92_HR0974
LRB9216995RHrh
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, Flight nurse and paramedic Ken Wheat of San Jose
3 will be one of 26 people honored at the National Emergency
4 Medical Services Memorial at the First Baptist Church of
5 Roanoke, Virginia, on May 25, 2002, for having made the
6 ultimate sacrifice; and
7 WHEREAS, Ken Wheat's family will be presented with a
8 medallion, symbolizing eternal memory, a U.S. flag that has
9 flown over the nation's capitol, symbolizing service to
10 country, and a white rose, symbolizing undying love; and
11 WHEREAS, Ken Wheat graduated from San Jose High School in
12 1982 and joined the local rescue squad; his father, Dave
13 Wheat, has been a member of the fire department for many
14 years and attributes his son's interest in emergency medicine
15 to his involvement in the department as he was growing up;
16 and
17 WHEREAS, Ken Wheat completed the three levels of
18 emergency medical technician education to become a paramedic;
19 during his studies, he worked for Springfield Memorial Center
20 Emergency Department and then went on to St. John's Memorial
21 Medical Center in Springfield, where he enrolled in nurses'
22 training and became a flight nurse; and
23 WHEREAS, Ken Wheat continued his work at Springfield
24 Memorial Medical Center for another two years and then became
25 the coordinator for the Regional Organ Bank of Illinois;
26 after serving as coordinator, he began work for OSF Saint
27 Francis Medical Center's Emergency Department, which is a
28 level one trauma center; and
29 WHEREAS, Ken Wheat and his girlfriend both voluntarily
30 traveled to Oklahoma City after the bombing of the Federal
31 Building to offer their help; he then went on to become a
-2- LRB9216995RHrh
1 flight nurse with ARCH Air Medical Services Inc. of St.
2 Louis, Missouri, where he died in the line of duty on June
3 14, 1997; and
4 WHEREAS, Ken Wheat was known from Chicago to St. Louis
5 for his skill as a flight nurse and paramedic and for his
6 dedication to saving lives; on the day of his funeral, the
7 ARCH Air helicopter hovered over the service attended by
8 busloads of co-workers; and
9 WHEREAS, Ken Wheat and 25 other individuals will have
10 their names engraved on bronze oak leaves which will be added
11 to the "Tree of Life," the permanent memorial on exhibit at
12 the "To the Rescue" museum in Roanoke, Virginia; therefore,
13 be it
14 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
15 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
16 we honor the memory of Ken Wheat for his selfless courage and
17 dedication and the ultimate sacrifice he made in the line of
18 duty; and be it further
19 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20 presented to the family of Ken Wheat.