HR0842 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY


  

 


 
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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, James Vernon has lived in and served his community
3of Morton, Illinois since 1968, including his active membership
4in the Morton Jaycees; and
 
5    WHEREAS, James Vernon honorably served his country as a
6sergeant in a United States Army intelligence unit in Germany
7from 1962 to 1966; he met and married Hanna Droell in
8Frankfurt, Germany in 1966; and
 
9    WHEREAS, James Vernon was employed by Caterpillar, Inc. in
10Information Technology, retiring in 2002 after 35 years of
11service; and
 
12    WHEREAS, James Vernon has enjoyed playing and teaching
13chess to children in Grundy and Lincoln elementary schools in
14Morton for many years; and
 
15    WHEREAS, James Vernon's military training taught him how to
16defend himself from a knife attack; and
 
17    WHEREAS, While James Vernon was teaching chess to 16
18home-schooled children at the Morton Public Library on October
1913, 2015, a 19 year-old man armed with 2 large knives entered
20the room in the Morton Library occupied by the young chess

 

 

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1players and announced he was there to kill the students; and
 
2    WHEREAS, James Vernon quietly approached the assailant
3while the children first hid, then quickly fled the room; he
4then put his military training to use to fight off and subdue
5the assailant until police arrived; he sustained serious knife
6wounds to his left hand, including 2 cut arteries and a severed
7tendon; and
 
8    WHEREAS, James Vernon's quick thinking, selflessness, and
9heroic actions saved the lives of many students and thwarted a
10potentially heinous tragedy; and
 
11    WHEREAS, James Vernon was presented with a proclamation by
12Governor Bruce Rauner designating October 26, 2015 as James
13Vernon Day in the State of Illinois; and
 
14    WHEREAS, James Vernon serves as a model of bravery,
15integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of
16Illinois; therefore, be it
 
17    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
18NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
19honor and thank James Vernon for his act of great bravery in
20protecting the children at the Morton Public Library on October
2113, 2015 and wish him the best in the future; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2presented to James Vernon as a symbol of our great respect and
3esteem.