SR0036 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0036 LRB096 04770 KXB 14834 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Marine Lieutenant General Victor "Brute" Krulak, who passed away on December 29, 2008; and

WHEREAS, In a career that spanned three decades, Lieutenant General Krulak displayed bravery during combat and brilliance as a tactician and organizer of troops; he was born in Denver, Colorado, on January 7, 1913, and was a 1934 graduate of the Naval Academy, where he picked up his nickname, a jest on the fact he was 5-foot-4; and

WHEREAS, As a junior officer he served in Marine actions in Central America; in World War II, as a lieutenant colonel, he led a battalion in a week-long battle as a diversionary raid to cover the invasion of Bougainville in the South Pacific; although wounded, he refused to be evacuated and was awarded the Navy Cross; under heavy fire from the Japanese, the Navy sent patrol boats to evacuate wounded Marines; Lieutenant General Krulak befriended one of the young commanders, John F. Kennedy, and decades later he drank whiskey in the Oval Office with President Kennedy; and

WHEREAS, After World War II, Lieutenant General Krulak held several key jobs, including commander of the 5th Marine Regiment and then as chief of staff to the 1st Marine Division during the war in Korea; he later served as commander of the Marine boot camp in San Diego and, from 1962 to 1964, as special assistant for counterinsurgency to the Joint Chiefs of Staff; as commanding general of Fleet Marine Force Pacific, he made 54 trips to Vietnam; and

WHEREAS, In 1984 his book, "First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps" was published, examining the history and culture of the Marine Corps; it remains on the official reading list for Marines and has been said to carry the DNA of the organization that prides itself on being the worst enemy that a foe of the United States can imagine; and

WHEREAS, All three of his sons served in Vietnam: Charles and William as Marine infantry officers and Victor Jr. as a Navy chaplain; after retiring from the Marines, William Krulak followed his brother into the Episcopal clergy; Charles Krulak, as a general, served as Marine commandant from 1995 to 1999, and followed in his father's footsteps as an innovator and champion of the enlisted man; along with his sons, Lieutenant General Krulak is survived by four grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren; Lieutenant General Krulak's wife, Amy, passed away in 2001; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with family, friends, and a grateful nation, the passing of Marine Lieutenant General Victor "Brute" Krulak; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Marine Lieutenant General Victor "Brute" Krulak as a symbol of our sympathy and respect.