Press Release - Tuesday, February 22, 2005
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Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn saluted members of the Illinois National Guard 1544th Transportation Company returning home from active duty in Iraq
PARIS- Today Lt. Gov. Quinn saluted members of the Illinois National Guard 1544th Transportation Company returning home from active duty in Iraq.
"Throughout our history, brave men and women have sacrificed everything for our safety," Quinn said. "Our nation owes the men and women of the 1544th a debt of gratitude and I am thankful for their return home."
Drawing from a four-state area, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, the 1544th is a 170-member transportation unit that trains in Paris, Illinois. With enlisted graduates from the local high school, the 1544th unit is part of the fabric of this midwestern town. Paris High School football players wear the 1544th logo on their helmets and light poles have signs with their names and yellow ribbons.
Although National Guard units tend to be staffed by men and women older than the average active-duty soldier, college students comprise 50 to 60 percent of the 1544th.
Assigned to deliver vital supplies along some of Iraq's most deadly routes, the 1544th suffered tremendous losses. More than two dozen soldiers suffered serious injuries and five lost their lives in battle: SGT Ivory L. Phillips, 44; SGT Jeremy L. Ridlen, 23; Army SGT Shawna Morrison, 26; Army SPC Charles Lamb, 23; and Army SPC Jessica L. Cawvey, 21.
"Citizen soldiers such as these brave guardsmen have answered the call to duty and put their lives on the line for our democracy," said Quinn. "Even as we celebrate the return of the soldiers of the 1544th, our joy is tempered by the memory of those we have lost."
There are 5,934 Illinois national reservists and guardsmen serving on active duty.
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