Peoria Standard

Rep. Thomas M. Bennett (R-Pontiac) and Sen. Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) have teamed up to honor a fallen service member from Minonk with Senate Joint Resolution 0015. This resolution would rename a portion of Interstate 39 outside of Minonk the “Cpl. Robert D. Janssen Memorial Highway.”

“We must always remember those who have sacrificed so much for our nation and the freedoms we hold dear," Bennett said on his website. "As a way of memorializing Cpl. Janssen and his service, Sen. Jason Barickman and I are sponsoring a joint resolution to rename the section of Interstate 39 outside his hometown of Minonk the 'Cpl. Robert D. Janssen Memorial Highway,' so that those who live here and those who visit will know his name and reflect on his sacrifice.”

Janssen served in the 9th Infantry Division, 2nd Battalion, 60th Infantry, B Company during the Vietnam War. He was killed on June 3, 1968, in the Long An province of South Vietnam, according to the Honor States.

Bennett said that Janssen was born in Bloomington, and graduated from Minonk-Dana-Rutland High School in 1966. He had been in the Army for just under a year when he was killed in action.

Senate Joint Resolution 0015 was filed in the Senate on Feb. 19, 2021, to rename a section of Interstate 39 outside the hometown of Janssen. In June 2021, it arrived in the House of Representatives, and on March 9, it was placed on the House Calendar Order of Resolutions.