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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, March 3, 2013 marks the 90th anniversary of the
3birth of Private First Class (PFC) Manuel Perez Jr.; and
 
4    WHEREAS, PFC Manuel Perez Jr. was a World War II
5paratrooper of Mexican heritage and a resident of Chicago; he
6was a naturally gifted athlete, whose peers gave him the
7nickname of "Bullet"; and
 
8    WHEREAS, PFC Manuel Perez Jr. was a co-founder of the
9Cyclistas Bicycle Club and a member of the Benito Juarez Social
10Club; he was also a 1941 graduate of Crane Technical High
11School and an employee of the Best Foods Company in Chicago;
12and
 
13    WHEREAS, PFC Manuel Perez Jr. was drafted into the United
14States Army on January 9, 1943; after completing infantry
15training, he volunteered for paratrooper training and was
16assigned to the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 11th
17Airborne Division (The Angels); he subsequently served in the
18Pacific Theater during the war; and
 
19    WHEREAS, PFC Manuel Perez Jr. fought in the Battle of Luzon
20in the Philippines, where he accomplished a feat which is still
21unparalleled in American warfare; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, On February 13, 1945, while his company was pinned
2down by ferocious enemy fire, PFC Manuel Perez Jr. as lead
3scout for Company A, made a one-man charge against the enemy;
4his action is credited with single-handedly neutralizing 11 of
512 concrete Japanese pillboxes, one of which maintained
6twin-mounted 50 caliber machineguns, that held up the
7advancement of his company at Fort McKinley, which was under
8enemy control; in the course of the reduction of these enemy
9strongholds, he was able to kill at least 75 of the enemy, 18
10in hand-to-hand combat, as described in a letter he personally
11wrote home informing family members of his heroic actions and
12in recommendation for a medal; and
 
13    WHEREAS, On March 14, 1945, PFC Manuel Perez Jr. was shot
14by an enemy sniper while covering the withdrawal of his fellow
15Paratroopers during the Battle of Manila; for going above and
16beyond the call of duty during this action, he was recommended
17for the nation's highest military decoration for valor, the
18Medal of Honor, along with the Purple Heart, the Combat
19Infantry Badge, and the Parachutist Badge; unfortunately, he
20would not live to receive the Medal of Honor; and
 
21    WHEREAS, The Medal of Honor was presented to PFC Manuel
22Perez Jr.'s father, Manuel Perez, Sr. of Nuevo Laredo,
23Tamaulipas, Mexico, on the Mexican side of the International

 

 

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1Bridge between the United States and Mexico; and
 
2    WHEREAS, PFC Manuel Perez Jr. along with Edward (Butch)
3O'Hare and Frank T. Witek, were the only Medal of Honor
4recipients from Chicago to be killed in action during World War
5II in the Pacific Theater and on June 22, 1946; and
 
6    WHEREAS, PFC Manuel Perez Jr.'s childhood friends, now
7veterans themselves, with the assistance of Father Patrick
8McPolin of Saint Francis of Assisi Church in Chicago, formed
9the American Legion, Manuel Perez Jr. Post 1017; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The United States Department of the Army dedicated
11the Manuel Perez Jr. Army Reserve Center, 221st Army Reserve
12Hospital in Oklahoma in his honor; in 1980, the City of Chicago
13dedicated the Manuel Perez Jr. Memorial Plaza at Kolin and 26th
14Streets in Little Village; in 1990, a veterans task force
15designated a newly constructed school as the Manuel Perez Jr.
16Elementary School, where Medal of Honor recipients Roy
17Benavidez and Al Lynch were joint keynote speakers at the
18dedication; therefore, be it
 
19    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL
20ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we designate the date
21of March 14, 2013 as Manuel Perez Jr. Day in the State of
22Illinois; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2presented to the family of Manuel Perez Jr. as a symbol of our
3great respect and esteem.