Senate Bill sb0016E

    Florida Senate - 2002        (NP)                      SR 16-E

    By Senator Lawson





    41-2351-02

  1                    Senate Resolution No. ____

  2         A resolution of remembrance and respect for

  3         Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer Matthew Joseph

  4         Bourgeois who died in Afghanistan.

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  6         WHEREAS, Matthew Joseph Bourgeois, 35, a Navy SEAL

  7  hospital corpsman from Tallahassee died March 28, 2002, during

  8  a training mission near a U.S. base in Kandahar, Afghanistan,

  9  and

10         WHEREAS, Matthew enlisted in the Navy after graduation

11  from Leon High School in Tallahassee, Florida, and entered

12  Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (Sea, Air, Land) training in

13  San Diego, graduating in 1988, and

14         WHEREAS, his various awards and decorations include the

15  Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine

16  Corps Achievement Medal, and the Kuwait Liberation Medal after

17  serving in the Persian Gulf War, and

18         WHEREAS, Matthew, who loved being a SEAL, was a

19  third-generation member of the U.S. Armed Services, and

20         WHEREAS, Chief Bourgeois was only weeks away from

21  returning home to his wife, Michelle, and 7-month-old son,

22  Matthew, Jr., and

23         WHEREAS, his wife Michelle wrote to a family friend,

24  "He had perseverance and determination, which made him

25  excellent at his job. He was always striving to be the best.

26  Matt knew it was a difficult and dangerous job, but that never

27  deterred him.", NOW, THEREFORE,

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29  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:

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    Florida Senate - 2002        (NP)                      SR 16-E
    41-2351-02




  1         That Matthew Bourgeois is remembered and respected for

  2  making the ultimate sacrifice for his family and his country.

  3         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution,

  4  with the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to the

  5  family of Matthew Bourgeois as a tangible token of the

  6  sentiments of the Florida Senate.

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