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2008 SESSION

089005528
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 373
Offered February 8, 2008
Celebrating the life of Sergeant Derek Ramond Banks.
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Patrons-- Hamilton, BaCote, Oder and Pogge; Senators: Locke, Miller, J.C. and Norment
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WHEREAS, Sergeant Derek Ramond Banks of Newport News, a member of the Virginia Army National Guard supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, died on November 14, 2007, of wounds suffered in combat operations in Baghdad, Iraq, on October 25, 2007; and

WHEREAS, Sergeant Banks was an electrician at Northrop Grumman Corporation in Newport News; and

WHEREAS, Derek Banks was born in Hampton on January 7, 1983, and joined the Virginia Army National Guard on March 22, 2002, as a combat engineer; and

WHEREAS, inspired to further serve his country and Virginia, Sergeant Banks enlisted many of his friends to join him in military service; and

WHEREAS, Sergeant Banks was a member of the 237th Engineer Company, 276th Engineer Battalion, 91st Troop Command stationed in West Point, and he had served previously in Mosul, Iraq, from March 1, 2004, through March 20, 2005, as the primary vehicle operator for the Headquarters Company Maintenance Section and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service; and

WHEREAS, Sergeant Banks and a fellow Virginian, Sergeant David E. Lambert of Cedar Bluff, were among five soldiers injured by an improvised explosive device in Baghdad, Iraq, on October 25, 2007; and

WHEREAS, Sergeant Banks’ military awards include a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, and the Combat Action Badge; and

WHEREAS, Sergeant Banks will be fondly remembered as a loving husband and father and will be greatly missed by his devoted wife, son, and other family members, as well as numerous friends and fellow soldiers in the Virginia National Guard; and

WHEREAS, Sergeant Banks’ death is a reminder of the perils faced daily by the thousands of brave Americans who serve in our armed forces overseas and whose devotion to duty places them in harm’s way; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of a courageous and patriotic Virginian, Sergeant Derek Ramond Banks; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Sergeant Derek Ramond Banks as an expression of the high regard in which his memory is held by the members of the General Assembly and the citizens of the Commonwealth.