HJ0055 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0055 LRB103 35765 MST 65847 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, It is highly fitting that the Illinois General Assembly pays honor and respect to those who have served our country and, in doing so, have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation; and

WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Robert Dale Herreid served as a Specialist 5 in the U.S. Army with Detachment A-402P, Company D, 5th Special Forces Group and was an advisor operating with a mobile strike force company; and

WHEREAS, On October 10, 1968, SSG Herreid's company was ambushed by a large enemy force in the Co To Mountain area, Chau Doc Province, South Vietnam; the company was forced to fall back after suffering casualties, and the area was then subjected to heavy artillery bombardment in subsequent battles; and

WHEREAS, SSG Herreid was hit and killed during the ensuing fire fight, and his unit could not evacuate his body as they fell back; later searches of the battle area failed to locate his remains; and

WHEREAS, Following the incident, the Army promoted SSG Herreid to the rank of Staff Sergeant; he is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific; his name is also inscribed along with all his fallen comrades on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC; and

WHEREAS, SSG Herreid was awarded the Purple Heart, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Army Presidential Unit Citation, the Vietnam Gallantry Cross, and the Army Good Conduct Medal; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate Route 31 in Batavia from Main Street south to Mooseheart Road as the "SSG Robert D. Herreid Memorial Highway"; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation is requested to erect, at suitable locations consistent with State and federal regulations, appropriate plaques or signs giving notice of the name "SSG Robert D. Herreid Memorial Highway"; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the family of SSG Herreid, Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke, and the Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation.