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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives were saddened to learn of the death of 1st Lt.
4 Brian Slavenas of Genoa who was killed when his helicopter was
5 shot down in Iraq on November 2, 2003; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Lt. Slavenas was born in DeKalb, about 60 miles
7 west of Chicago, but moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana as a child;
8 he later moved back to Illinois and attended DeKalb High
9 School, where he played the drums and threw the discus; and tf
 
10     WHEREAS, After high school, he became a paratrooper with
11 the United States Army and then joined the same unit of the
12 National Guard that his father was in for 17 years; he later
13 went to officer school and decided to become a helicopter
14 pilot; and
 
15     WHEREAS, Lt. Slavenas had just graduated from the
16 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with an engineering
17 degree and was looking forward to starting a career before he
18 was deployed in April 2003; and
 
19     WHEREAS, Lt. Slavenas came from a family with a history of
20 military service; his father was a paratrooper, one of his
21 brothers fought in Grenada, and the other served in Desert
22 Storm; and
 
23     WHEREAS, Lt. Slavenas was from the F Company 106 Aviation
24 Battalion based at the Greater Peoria Airport; he was one of
25 the 16 soldiers killed when insurgents shot down a Chinook
26 helicopter west of Bagdad; it was the deadliest strike against
27 United States forces since they invaded Iraq in March; and
 
28     WHEREAS, He was affectionately known as a "gentle giant";
29 he competed in weightlifting competitions and played the piano

 

 

HR0665 - 2 - LRB093 14237 KEF 47203 r

1 beautifully; and
 
2     WHEREAS, Lt. Slavenas's passing will be deeply felt by
3 many, especially his mother; his father and stepmother; his two
4 brothers; and his stepbrother and stepsister; therefore, be it
 
5     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
6 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
7 mourn the passing of 1st Lt. Brian Slavenas along with all who
8 knew and loved him and extend our sincere condolences to his
9 family and friends; and be it further
 
10     RESOLVED, That we honor the memory of 1st Lt. Brian
11 Slavenas and his willingness to serve our country, which led
12 him to making the ultimate sacrifice; and be it further
 
13     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
14 presented to the family of 1st Lt. Brian Slavenas as an
15 expression of our deepest sympathy.