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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to recognize the opening of the Col.
4Charles Young temporary exhibit and the presentation of the
5bronze maquette in his honor - the nation's first black colonel
6in the United States Armed Forces; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Col. Charles Young was born in 1864 to enslaved
8parents and became only the 3rd African-American to graduate
9from West Point; he rose through the military ranks and became
10the first black American in the regular army to be promoted to
11Colonel in 1917; in 1918, he was stationed at Camp Grant in
12Rockford; in addition to his exemplary military record, he
13served as the Superintendent of Sequoia National Park in
14California and as the nation's first black military attache to
15a foreign government; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Col. Charles Young was many things - a diplomat,
17an educator, a Buffalo Soldier - and his legacy lives on
18through all the African-American soldiers, Colonels, Generals,
19and Flag Officers that came after him; and
 
20    WHEREAS, The Coalition of Black Veterans, in conjunction
21with the African American Gallery of the Ethnic Heritage Museum
22has been working diligently to get Col. Young an honorary

 

 

HR1070- 2 -LRB098 21177 MST 59098 r

1promotion to the rank of Brigadier General; and
 
2    WHEREAS, The Col. Charles Young temporary exhibit will open
3starting on May 17, 2014, Armed Forces Day, at the Veterans
4Memorial Hall in Rockford and will remain open throughout the
5month of June; therefore, be it
 
6    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
7NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
8we recognize the opening of the Col. Charles Young temporary
9exhibit and the presentation of the bronze maquette in his
10honor; and be it further
 
11    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
12presented to the National Coalition of Black Veteran
13Organizations as an expression of our esteem and respect.