HR0253 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0253 LRB103 32230 MST 61420 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Dean Preston on being awarded the French Legion d'honneur, France's highest distinction awarded to those who have done great deeds for France; and

WHEREAS, Dean Preston graduated from Pekin Community High School in 1942, and along with his brother, Jim, voluntarily entered the service ahead of the draft; after basic training, he was sent to advanced radio repair school, where he was trained to integrate wired telephones and field sets with a wireless radio network; and

WHEREAS, Dean Preston was assigned as a corporal to U.S. Army, 927th Signal Battalion, Separate, Tactical Air Command; in August of 1944, he and his battalion were assigned to support Operation Dragoon, the invasion force of Southern France; in December of 1944, he found himself in "no-man's land" when a German winter counter-attack through the Ardennes Forest in concert with the Battle of the Bulge and a German operation that headed south into Eastern France called Operation Nordwind converged in the same area; miraculously, he survived, and as the war was coming to an end in March of 1945, he joined with the 101st Airborne Division, whose task was to hunt down any fanatical German resistance; and

WHEREAS, Dean Preston departed the European Theater of Operations from Marseille on November 21, 1945 and arrived back in the United States on December 4, 1945; following the war, fellow 927th Signal Battalion Radioman Ted Richardson credited Dean with saving his life; and

WHEREAS, During his time in the service, Dean Preston earned the American Campaign Medal, the European African Middle East Campaign Medal with five Campaign Stars for Northern France, Rome-Arno, Southern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Meritorious Unit Commendation citation; he also earned three Overseas Bars and qualified as an Expert with the Carbine Rifle and Sub-Machine Gun; and

WHEREAS, Dean Preston graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1949; and

WHEREAS, Dean Preston was employed by the American Distilling Company in Pekin for 28 years, serving as a bottling superintendent; he later continued in that capacity for Midwest Grain for seven additional years, formally retiring in 1987; since that time, he has and continues to work part-time as a greeter and driver for the Preston-Hanley Funeral Home in Pekin; and

WHEREAS, Dean Preston was a 12-year member of the Tazewell County Sheriff's Auxiliary Patrol; he is a Life Member of Empire Lodge 126, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons of Illinois in Pekin and a member of William Schaefer American Legion Post 44; and

WHEREAS, Dean Preston is a former member of the Pekin Barbershop Chorus, a youth counselor with Junior Achievement, and the Drum Sergeant of the Shrine Kiltie Band in Peoria; and

WHEREAS, Dean Preston and his wife, Alberta, had 66 wonderful years together before her passing; and

WHEREAS, Dean Preston will turn 99 years of age in November of 2023; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Dean Preston on being awarded the French Legion d'honneur, and we wish him many more wonderful years; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Dean Preston as a symbol of our respect and esteem.