Bill Text: CA SCR5 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Marine Corporal Christopher D. Leon Memorial Highway.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2009-07-14 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 70, Statutes of 2009. [SCR5 Detail]
Download: California-2009-SCR5-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SCR 5 CHAPTERED BILL TEXT RESOLUTION CHAPTER 70 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 14, 2009 ADOPTED IN SENATE APRIL 23, 2009 ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 9, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Senator Runner (Coauthor: Assembly Member Knight) DECEMBER 2, 2008 Relative to the Marine Corporal Christopher D. Leon Memorial Highway. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SCR 5, Runner. Marine Corporal Christopher D. Leon Memorial Highway. This measure would designate a specified portion of State Highway Route 14 in the County of Los Angeles as the Marine Corporal Christopher D. Leon Memorial Highway. The measure would also request that the Department of Transportation determine the cost for appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, erect those signs. WHEREAS, Marine Corporal Christopher D. Leon was born on November 5, 1985, in Thousand Oaks, California; and WHEREAS, Marine Corporal Christopher D. Leon, a 2004 graduate of Lancaster High School, left for boot camp in the Marine Corps in San Diego shortly after graduating; and WHEREAS, Marine Corporal Christopher D. Leon always wanted to be a Marine and loved the camaraderie and high sense of purpose that is part of being in the Marine Corps; and WHEREAS, Marine Corporal Christopher D. Leon was described by fellow members of the Marine Corps as having a heart of a lion and this characteristic was displayed on many occasions, including when he broke his foot during a boot camp exercise called "the crucible" but still managed to courageously finish 10 miles of hiking and more miles of running with that broken foot; and WHEREAS, Marine Corporal Christopher D. Leon made rank quickly and obtained his corporal's stripes before two years in service; and WHEREAS, Marine Corporal Christopher D. Leon was assigned to the 5th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO), III Marine Expeditionary Force, in Okinawa, Japan; and WHEREAS, Marine Corporal Christopher D. Leon excelled in ANGLICO training and in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program; and WHEREAS, As a liaison company member, Marine Corporal Christopher D. Leon was trained to quickly pinpoint the source of enemy fire from ground troops, helicopters, or attack plans and then to direct counter fire; and WHEREAS, On June 20, 2006, at 20 years of age, Marine Corporal Christopher D. Leon died from injuries suffered in combat in the western province of Al Anbar, Iraq; and WHEREAS, At a memorial service for Marine Corporal Christopher D. Leon in Ramadi, Iraq, Marine Captain Adam Blanton praised him as "everything I could have asked for in a Marine"; and WHEREAS, Marine Corporal Christopher D. Leon was fiercely proud of the hazardous duty he performed in combat in defense of the United States of America; and WHEREAS, Marine Corporal Christopher D. Leon is survived by his parents James and Kathi Leon, grandparents Lucien and Rita Hemond, aunts and uncles LoriAnn and Robert Lumley and Paul and Margo Hemond, cousins Anna Lumley and Andrew Hemond, birth mom Nikki Ruhl, Nikki's mother Sue Ruhl, and Nikki's sister Tracy Rossi and family; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby recognizes the duty and sacrifice made by Marine Corporal Christopher D. Leon for the people of the United States of America and hereby designates the portion of State Highway Route 14 in the County of Los Angeles, between Avenue M and Avenue L in the City of Lancaster, as the Marine Corporal Christopher D. Leon Memorial Highway; and be it further Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested to determine the cost of appropriate signs, consistent with the signing requirements for the state highway system, showing the special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the Department of Transportation and to the author for appropriate distribution.