RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Captain William Thomas Shanley was born on August 31,1922 on North Sheffield Avenue in Chicago, Illinois; and,
WHEREAS, William Shanley graduated from High School at DePaul Academy in June 1940. In September 1940, he enlisted in the 1st Squadron ofthe 106th Cavalry Regiment located on East Chicago Avenue; and,
WHEREAS, In January 1943, William Shanley was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant and reported to the 82nd Engineer Combat Battalion at Camp Swift Texas; and,
WHEREAS, In early June, 1944 the Battalion was alerted to move to a Seaport and subsequent travel to the Coast of France. C Company was ordered to board the troop ship on D-Day + 3 and sailed to a point about one mile off Omaha Beach; and,
WHEREAS, After landing on Omaha Beach, the Battalion gathered and was involved in the sweeping of mines in the roads and fields in Normandy, France; and,
WHEREAS, On August 15th, 1944 William Shanley and two members of his team were checking on bridges near Mortain, France when their jeep drove over a German Teller Mine; and,
WHEREAS, William Shanley was airlifted from the Field Hospital in France to an Army General Hospital in Southern England and eventually returned home to the United States; and,
WHEREAS, After three months in the rehabilitation hospital William went in front of the Army Retirement Board and was granted Disability Retirement with the Rank of Captain; and,
WHEREAS, Captain William Shanley received the Purple Heart and the Chevalier de Legion d'honneur, the highest order of merit for military & civilian merits awarded by the French Government; and,
WHEREAS, Captain Shanley passed away on November 4th, 2013 in his 92nd year; and,
WHEREAS, In July 2018, a family that lives near Mortain France informed the children of William Shanley that they found Captain Shanley's canteen in an old farmhouse near where the jeep drove over the mine; and,
WHEREAS, This June, the children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren of William Shanley traveled to Normandy, France to meet the family along with the Mayor and members of the village of Saint-Clement-Rancoudray where the accident happened; and,
WHEREAS, June 6, 2019 marks the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion and the start of the Normandy Campaign; and,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and members ofthe City of Chicago City Council, assembled here this 29th of May, 2019 do hereby honor the life of Captain William T. Shanley and his service to the United States; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, The City of Chicago will provide and present a copy of this resolution to the family of Captain William T. Shanley.
/Thomas M. Tupmey Alderman, 44th Ward