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92_HJ0013
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1 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois General Assembly
3 wish to recognize and acknowledge those citizens in the State
4 of Illinois and across the United States who have made
5 sacrifices to ensure our freedom; and
6 WHEREAS, The Order of the Purple Heart for Military
7 Merit, commonly called "The Purple Heart" is an American
8 decoration created by George Washington; it is the oldest
9 military decoration in the world in present use; it was the
10 first award available to the common soldier, and has been
11 awarded to an estimated 800,000 American soldiers; and
12 WHEREAS, On May 1, 2000, a government delegate and a
13 veterans organization representative met with James Tolbert,
14 Jr., Executive Director of Stamp Services for the United
15 States Postal Service, to plead for the issuance of a Purple
16 Heart Stamp; and
17 WHEREAS, The group was informed that stamps could not be
18 issued for veterans service organizations because there are
19 too many such organizations in existence; however, the stamp
20 in question is not for the Military Order of the Purple
21 Heart, an organization of Purple Heart recipients formed in
22 1932, but honors the medal and those who have received it;
23 and
24 WHEREAS, Even though the United States Senate has passed
25 a unanimous Resolution supporting the Purple Heart Stamp and
26 the United States House of Representatives has a Resolution
27 with over 200 co-sponsors, it may have no effect; and
28 WHEREAS, A Citizens Advisory Committee was established in
29 1957 to keep politics out of the stamp issuance process;
30 members are appointed by the Postmaster General and with
31 approval of the Postmaster General have total control of all
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1 stamps issued; and
2 WHEREAS, It would seem that the fate of the Purple Heart
3 Stamp is now in the hands of the public, who have the option
4 of writing support letters to the chairman of the Citizens
5 Advisory Committee; and
6 WHEREAS, The veterans, who gave so selflessly during
7 times of crisis, are worthy and due full recognition for
8 their sacrifices for their country; therefore, be it
9 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
10 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
11 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge the United States
12 Postal Service to reconsider the issuance of a Purple Heart
13 Stamp to honor those veterans who received the Order of the
14 Purple Heart for Military Merit defending their country
15 during times of conflict; and be it further
16 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
17 presented to Mr. James Tolbert, Executive Director of Stamp
18 Services for the United States Postal Service, the Honorable
19 William J. Henderson, Postmaster General and Chief Executive
20 Officer of the United States Postal Service, Dr. Virginia
21 Noelke, Chairperson of the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee,
22 Boyd Barclay, Past National Commander of the Military Order
23 of the Purple Heart, and each member of the Illinois
24 congressional delegation.