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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of Illinois House of Representatives | ||||||
| 3 | wish to congratulate Wilbert Vincent "Vince" Rolves on the | ||||||
| 4 | occasion of his 100th birthday on February 23, 2024; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Vince Rolves, a resident of Carlyle, was born on | ||||||
| 6 | February 23, 1924 to Frank and Anna (Smith) Rolves in Albers in | ||||||
| 7 | Clinton County; and | ||||||
| 8 | WHEREAS, Vince Rolves was drafted into the United States | ||||||
| 9 | Army in 1943 at age 18 during World War II; he served in | ||||||
| 10 | Company C, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division in | ||||||
| 11 | the North African region of the European Theater and then near | ||||||
| 12 | Naples, Italy, where he first saw combat and was promoted to | ||||||
| 13 | sergeant while serving as a ground trooper, commonly referred | ||||||
| 14 | to as a Ground Pounder; and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, Vince Rolves was shot and wounded on December 14, | ||||||
| 16 | 1943 in Italy as his unit was captured by German forces; he | ||||||
| 17 | survived harsh conditions as an American prisoner of war (POW) | ||||||
| 18 | in the harsh East Prussian region; he was honored for his | ||||||
| 19 | sacrifices with the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, | ||||||
| 20 | and the Prisoner of War Medal; and | ||||||
| 21 | WHEREAS, Vince Rolves returned from his World War II | ||||||
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| 1 | service and married his late wife, Loretta Thouvenin, on | ||||||
| 2 | October 24, 1946; he opened a trucking business and later | ||||||
| 3 | worked for 30 years as an employee with Scott Air Force Base in | ||||||
| 4 | southern Illinois; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Vince Rolves established an organization for POWs | ||||||
| 6 | in the southern Illinois area, sharing his experiences with | ||||||
| 7 | students; in 2017, he taped an audio interview for the | ||||||
| 8 | Illinois Veterans History Project about his World War II | ||||||
| 9 | service; he has supported all veterans and many community | ||||||
| 10 | activities on behalf of our military service members, | ||||||
| 11 | including the Veterans of Foreign Wars (V.F.W.) Post 3523 in | ||||||
| 12 | Carlyle, the Marion County Soldiers' & Sailors' Reunion, and | ||||||
| 13 | the Centralia Area Veterans Fourth of July Parade; therefore, | ||||||
| 14 | be it | ||||||
| 15 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 16 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 17 | on the occasion of his centennial birthday, we honor, and | ||||||
| 18 | commend the exemplary service and sacrifice of Wilbert Vincent | ||||||
| 19 | "Vince" Rolves to the United States of America, Illinois, | ||||||
| 20 | Clinton County, and the southern Illinois region; and be it | ||||||
| 21 | further | ||||||
| 22 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 23 | presented to Vince Rolves as a symbol of our respect and | ||||||
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| 1 | esteem. | ||||||