Veterans Day 2016

Honoring Our Military Heroes

NOVEMBER 11, 2016 VETERAN’S DAY SPECIAL SECTION A publication of the Morris Herald-News, a division of Shaw Media

Charles Akin

Edward R. Aldrich

Leroy E. Aldrich

Nickalous N. Aldrich

Jon Allen

Lester Allen

Richard J. Allen

Bryanna Andersen

Ariel Anderson

Morris, IL Army H 1963-1969

Morris, IL Army H 1968-1971

Aurora, IL Navy H 1943-1946 Died Sept. 29, 2011

Amarillo, TX Marines H 2004 Died Aug. 27, 2004

South Wilmington, IL Army H 1969-1971

South Wilmington, IL Navy H 1943-1946

Livingston, CA Navy H 1965-1971

Minooka, IL Army H 2007-present

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died Nov. 26, 2008

Carl E. Anderson

Dan Anderson

Daniel Anderson

Glen Anderson

Kevin Anderson

Paul A. Anderson

Ralph Anderson

Rolf Anderson

William R. Anderson

Fort Dodge, IA Army Air Corp. H 1941-45 Died Oct. 21, 2001

Coal City, IL Army H 1962-1963

Dwight, IL Marines H 2005-2010

Lisbon, IL Army H 1941-1945

Morris, IL Navy H 1985-1989

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died June 8, 2011

Seneca, IL Army H 1943-1945

Lisbon, IL Army H 1953-1955

Wilmington, IL Navy H 1974-1995

Ronald Andrae

Raymond R. Andreae

Norman H. Appleton

Ken Arneson

Robert L. Arnsdorff

Lloyd Arthur

Robert Ashbaugh

Alfred Austino

Kirk Babcock

Barrington, IL Navy H 1955-1959 Died Oct. 1, 2010

Morris, IL Army H 1954-1956

Coal City, IL Marines H 1953-1956 Died May 29, 2011

Morris, IL Navy H 1946-1948

Morris, IL Air Force H 1951-1955

Verona, IL Navy H 1945-1946 Died April 16, 2007

Verona, IL Navy H 1965-1970 Deceased

Ransom, IL Army H 1950-1952

Morris, IL Air Force H 1987-2009

Just two simple words…

James I. Reeves 1918-1989 U.S. Army Air Force 1943-1945 Pacific Theater Operations

Thank you

On Veterans Day

Robert B. Baskerville 1923 - 1981 US Army 1942-1945 European Theater Operations

and always, we remember

Christopher J. Baskerville US Air Force 2013 - Present

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Reeves Funeral Homes, Ltd. • Morris 815/942-2500 • Coal City 815/634-2125 • Gardner 815/237-2526 Baskerville Funeral Home • Wilmington 815/476-2181 • www.reevesfuneral.com

2015

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Joseph L. Reeves U.S. Navy 2009 - Present

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James W. Reeves U.S. Navy 2003 - Present

your sacrifices and honor our freedom.

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Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 10, 2016

| Veterans Day Special Section

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Operation St. Nick is granting any wish up to $2,500 for 12 Grundy County military families with children.

Serving our country has a very big effect on loved ones of those who serve. Family life is disrupted for spouses and children, careers put on hold, and th price of personal sacrifice is often times life changing. We want to repay those who have served our country on our behalf by making this Christmas special for 12 area families.

To be eligible to have your wish granted, you: • Must be a resident of Grundy County •Need to be currently in the military or have been honorably discharged • Complete the official form online at www.morrisherald-news.com/stnick Forms are also available at the Morris Herald-News or any Grundy County Standard Bank location.

Entries should be filled out by the service person, his/her spouse, or significant other and submitted to the Morris Herald-News or any Grundy County Standard Bank location by 5PM on November 16th, 2016.

• Thursday, November 10, 2016

Wishes will be granted each day December 12 through 23 2016.

Simply tell us what your Christmas wish is for your family this year.

Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com

To gi give back to thos those who wh are serving, in or ha have served, ed

Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 10, 2016

| Veterans Day Special Section

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Morris Color Guards

By JEANNE MILLSAP – For Shaw Media

Morris Color Guard Commander Jerry Terando. Photo by Jeanne Millsap/For Shaw Media.

The Morris Color Guard has served the community and veterans for decades in one form or another, even as early as post-World War II. Color Guard Commander Jerry Terando said he’s seen photos of the guard in their Eisenhower jackets and pistol belts.

They serve at funerals of veterans, at parades, ceremonies, banquets, car shows and wherever they’re invited to show their respects and lend a tone of patriotism.

“It’s my esteemed honor to stand side-by-side with them,” Terando said. “We’re out there in the blistering heat, the rain, the wind, the snow. It’s like still being in service.”

Terando even served at a veteran’s ceremony the day after his son, Army Sgt. Joshua Terando, was killed in action in Iraq in 2005. He understands the importance of the calling.

Presenting the colors, folding and presenting the flag, playing taps and being a solid patriotic presence at funerals is one of the most significant duties of the color guard, Terando said.

“We make sure that they get an honorable funeral,” he said. “All veterans’ honorable service should be honored.”

Terando joined the Morris Color Guard in 1995. Working in construction, he had shifts that were flexible enough to allow him to attend daytime funerals and events.

“It was something I believed in basically,” he said. “Someone’s got to keep filling in the ranks.”

The 15 members of the guard are veterans from the Air Force, Navy, Army and Marines.

They are retired or still working, and they all have one thing in common.

“Their pride of service and the camaraderie and the opportunity to honor our veterans,” Terando said.

Terando schedules as many guard members as he can to work funerals. The perfect number is 11, he said – two to fold the flag, one to call the commands, seven to fire the rifle volleys and one bugler.

Morris Police Officer and Army veteran Steve Huettemann has been a bugler with the Morris Color Guard for almost 20 years. It’s a way to give back to the veterans, he said. For the first few years, he played echo taps with fellow vet Chuck Hammond. He now plays the song solo, after Hammond died in 2008.

“Hopefully I play it correctly and beautifully and can help people move on,” he said. “I do it because it needs to be done. . . They get that special honor that not everyone gets, and it’s earned by them.”

“It’s a great group, that’s for sure,” said Jim Maskel, an officer with the VFW Auxilliary.

“They are very appreciated.”

The auxiliary recently donated funds for the color guard to purchase heavier uniforms for winter use and for closets to store uniforms at the VFW.

The Morris Color Guard recently honored fellow guard member and Korean War veteran Gerald Matteson, seated. From left: Jerry Belt, Dan Havel, Jim Leonard, Bob Rogers, Larry Johnson, Mike Ebert and Ron McDaniel. Photo courtesy Jerry Terando.

Photo by Jeanne Millsap/For Shaw Media.

The members of the color guard are veterans who served their country, then came home and continue to serve, Maskel said.

Members of the guard also appreciate the local funeral homes, UC Davis-Callahan, Reeves, Fruland and Fred C. Dames, for their donations and being strong supporters.

Huettemann said the guard is always looking for vets to serve with them on the Morris Color Guard.

“For me, I try to help the family get closure,” he said, “because not a lot of people will go and volunteer for something where they could potentially die. When you sign your name on the line, that’s what you could be giving up. You’re giving your whole life for the service, and you have the potential of not coming back at all. . . They earn the ceremony. It’s something that we have to keep doing.”

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Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953 Died Jan. 12, 2010

Jerry Barla

Max M. Babcock

Verne E. Babcock

Elwyn Baker

Marshall L. Bardell

Arthur Ronald Barker

H. Michael Bates

Morris, IL Army H 1960-1966 Died Aug. 20, 2012

Morris, IL Air Force H 1959-1965 Died Feb. 2011

Mazon, IL Army H 1944-1946

Stockton, IL Army H 1958-1960

Louis Barla

Rob Barla

Edward D. Basham

Matthew D. Basham

Poplar Bluff, MO Army H 1965-1968

Robert Barkley

Morris, IL Army H 1966-1968 Died Aug. 29, 2011

Jeff Beck

Andy Barla

Seneca, IL Navy H 1942-1945 Died 1994

Todd Beck

Brian Barla

Seneca, IL Navy H 1985-1989

Richard Becker

Seneca, IL Navy H 1956-1959

Cherokee Village, AR Marines H 1956-1959

Marseilles, IL Navy H 1992-1996

Braidwood, IL Army H 1952-1954

Coal City, IL Navy H 2005-2009

Morris, IL Army H 1966-1968

Morris, IL Army H 1972-1975

Morris, IL Navy H 2009-2015

Minooka, IL Army H 1963-1966 Died July 5, 2016

Dalton R. Bednarik

Edward R. Bednarik

Gerald Bednarik

Donald Bekker

Gregory L. Bell

Harold Bell

Kenneth Bell

Robert Bell

Ronald L. Bell

Morris, IL Navy H 1942-1944 Died July 28, 1964

Morris, IL Navy H 1967-1971

Morris, IL Marines H WWII & Korea Died Dec. 11, 2008

Morris, IL Marines H 1988-1992 Desert Storm

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1954

Morris, IL Marines H 1953-1956

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953 Died Aug. 4, 1972

Morris, IL Marines H 1952-1953

Charles L. Benbrooks

Earl Benge

George S. Benger

Butch Benson

Clarence Benson

Earl Benson

Ed Benson

Ronald K. Belt

Gerald Belt

Morris, IL Navy H 1944-1946 Died March 21, 1970

Morris, IL Army H 1957-1959

George Keith Benson II

Coal City, IL Army H 1966-1968 Died Oct. 28, 2008

Ronald Benson

Mazon, IL Army H 1957-1959

So. Wilmington, IL Army H 1956-1957

Coal City, IL Marines H 1944-1946 Died Dec. 23, 2009

Kissimmee, FL Air Force H 1966-1970

Morris, IL Army H 1968-1970

Newark, IL Army H WWII Died 1985

Morris, IL Navy H 1945-1946 Died Oct. 29, 2002

Newark, IL Army H 1917-1919 Died Nov. 16, 1971

Sven Benson

John Berg

Orland Berg

John Bertot

Dennis Best

George Bexson

Edward Beyer

Newark, IL Army H 1917-1919 Died 1945

Morris, IL Army H 1917-1919 Died June 22, 1978

Minooka, IL Army H 1943-1946

Coal City, IL Army H 1942-1946 Died April 23, 2009

Morris, IL Army H 1970-1972

Gardner, IL Army H 1958-1961

Joliet, IL Army H 1955-1958

• Thursday, November 10, 2016

Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1946

Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com

Lowell Babcock

Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 10, 2016

| Veterans Day Special Section

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Joseph A. Bien

Jospeh P. Bien

Alvin Biros

Michael Biros

August Black

Brian Black

Robert “Bob” Blaine

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died July 1, 2000

Green Valley, AZ Army H 1969-1970 Died Feb. 14, 2004

Seneca, IL Army Air Force H 1942-44 Died March 4, 1994

Seneca, IL Marines H 1969-1971 Died March 13,1997

Morris, IL Military Intelligence Army H 1941-1945

Morris, IL Navy H 2003-2007

Coal City, IL Army H 1957-1959 Died June 20, 2007

William “Bud” Blake

William L. Blake

Stephen V. Bliefield

Micheal W. Bogart

Bruce A. Boling

Leon Bonneur

Robert Borgstrom

John A. Blake

Morris, IL Army Air Corp. H 1946-47 Died Feb. 5, 2002

Bob Born

Warren Blake

Morris, IL Army H 1945-1946 Died June 30, 2011

Brad Born

Morris, IL Army H 1944-1946 Died Oct. 21, 2006

Morris, IL Calvary Vet Corp.H1918-1919 Died May 26, 1973

Verona, IL Air Force H 2008-present

Joliet, IL Marines H 1973-1977

Mazon, IL Air Force H 1991-present

Morris, IL Army H 1956-1966 Died Oct. 10, 2015

Morris, IL Navy H 1959-1964

Coal City, IL Marines H 1973-1977

Coal City, IL Air Force H 1971-1975

Don Born

Ervin Born

John Born

Ray Born

William Boswell

Bernard Bounds

Richard Bradley

Richard L. Bradley

John E. Brady

Coal City, IL Marines H 1943-1946 Died Dec. 15, 2006

Coal City, IL Army H 1942-1946 Died June 1, 2009

Coal City, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died March 9, 2010

Coal City, IL Army/Air ForceH1939-45 Died Aug. 13, 1991

Seneca, IL Army, Nat’l Guard H 2011-present

Bloomington, IL Marines H 1965-1967

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died Aug. 18, 2009

Morris, IL Army H 1962-1965

Morris, IL Marines H 1943-1946

LeRoy W. Brady

Leroy Brandt

George Brayton

Charles Brehm

Raymond L. Brenczewski

Raymond P. Brenczewski Joliet, IL Army H WWII Died 2004

Hugh Brennan

Joliet, IL Air Force H 1986-2006

Scott Breslar

Morris, IL Army H 1974-1975

Andrew R. Brewer

Coal City, IL Army National Guard H 2006-present

Robert E. Brooks I

William L. Brooks

John Broucek

George Brown

Northlake, IL Army H 1964-1966 Died March 22, 2014

Coal City, IL Navy H 1943-1946 Died June 11, 2001

Morris, IL Navy H 1951-1955

Morris, IL Army H 1952-1954

Joliet, IL Army H 1966-1968

Andrew W. Brian

Donald E. Bright

Lonnie Briley

Walter D. Britz

Joe Brochman

Morris, IL Army H 2006-2008

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953

Morris, IL Army H 1956-1976 Died Aug. 7, 2009

Joliet, IL Army H 1968-1970 Died April 3, 2005

Stillwater, MN Army H 1954-1956

Morris, IL Army H 1939-1945 Died March 14, 1963

Gardner, IL Navy Reserves H 1956-1962

Braceville, IL Army H 1954-1956

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1964 Died June 6, 2007

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Robert E. Brown

Emil Buberle

Charles L. Bumgardner

Kenneth E. Bunker

Francis A. Bunton

John Patrick Bunton

Jeff Alan Burchfield

Jeff Alan Burchfield

Morris IL Air ForceH1943-46, 1950-51 Died Sept. 1987

Coal City, IL Navy H 1943-1946 Died April 23, 2006

Carbon Hill, IL Army H 1967-1969

Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died Aug. 24, 1972

Coal City, IL Navy H 1944-1945 Died April 19, 1966

Coal City, IL Marines H 1973-1975

Morris, IL Air Force H 1989-1994

Morris, IL Army H 2001-present

Gene Burd

Carl B. Burkett

Bruce Burkhart

Melvin Butler

Charles G. Butterfield, Sr. Morris, IL Army H 1946-1947 Died Feb. 25, 2005

William Butterfield

Morris, IL Navy H 1944-1946 Died March 19,1996

Agnes LaDelle Byers Braceville, IL Navy H 1943-1945 Died 2010

Robert A. Byers

Braceville, IL Marines H 1943-1945 Died 2002

Jack Cacello

South Wilmington, IL Army H 1970-1971

Catherine A. Canik

Edward L. Canik

Paul Canik

Charles L. Carey

Albert “Swede” Carlson

Louis Bernard Cheshareck

Plano, IL Navy H 1963-1967

Morris, IL Navy H 1942-1945 Died Jan. 1, 1999

Mazon, IL Army Air Corp. H 1942-46 Air Force H 1946-1979

Toledo, OH Navy H 1945-1949

Pete Cacello

Danny Cain

Charles Callahan

Daniel Callahan

South Wilmington, IL Army H 1941-1945

Morris, IL Air Force H 1942-1945 Died Dec. 11, 1968

Morris, IL Air Force H 1956-1959 Died Oct. 14, 2010

Morris, IL Air Force H 1955-1958

Brodhead, WI Navy H 1968-1971

Homer Glen, IL Marines H 1942-1944 Died March 9, 2007

Morris, IL Navy H 1964-1967

Morris, IL Army H 1943-1946 Died June 17, 2013

Leonard S. Carlson

Robert S. Carlson

Eric Carriger

Edward J. Cepiel, Sr.

Bridget Lenzie Cermak Coal City, IL IL Nat’l Guard H 1990-1996

Ralph Chamness

Reddick, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died June 2006

Ralph T. Chandler

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died 1980

Frank Cheshareck

Morris, IL Marines H 1953-1955 Died July 7, 2009

Morris, IL Army Air ForceH1946-49 Died April 15, 1955

Ron Cingrani

John Clampitt

Evan E. Clark

Candace M. Clay

Christine M. Clay

Kinsman, IL Air ForceH1941-45, 52-53 Died Feb. 1998

Morris, IL Marines H 1969-1972

Chapin, IL Marines H 2006-2011

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953 Died June 20, 2011

William Cheshareck

Willie Cheshareck

Richard “Riz” Chouinard

Milford Christianson

Morris, IL Army H 1945-1946 Died Feb. 27, 2010

Morris, IL Army H WWII Died Feb. 7, 1997

Morris, IL Air Force H 1942-1953 Died July 19, 2016

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died Feb. 28, 1982

Morris, IL Navy H 1964-1967

Morris, IL Army H 1943-1945 Died March 6, 2002

Gardner, IL Army H 1955-1957

Minooka, IL Navy H 2002-2013

Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1945 Died May 6, 2001

Minooka, IL Navy H 2005-2010

• Thursday, November 10, 2016

Zephyr Hills, FL Army H 1951-1953

Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com

Robert D. Brown

Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 10, 2016

| Veterans Day Special Section 8

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Chester Claypool

Jared Claypool

John LeRoy Claypool

Lester Claypool

Rodney A. Clements

Jack Cobb

Robert E. Cohenour

Edward “Ted” Conley

Daniel P. Cox

Minooka, IL Marines H 2004-2013

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died May 2001

Morris, IL Marines H 2003-2004

Morris, IL Army H 1958-1960

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died May 25,1980

Morris, IL Marines H 1968-1972 Died May 21, 2007

Glen Allen, MO Air Force H 1951-1955

Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1947 Died July 31, 1985

Chad Cook

Daniel R. Cook, Sr.

Orin C. Cooper

Clemer Corn

S. Carter Corsello

Joseph Corsello

Thomas F. Costello

Douglas Cotter

Morris, IL Navy H 1941-1945 Died Dec. 16, 2007

Morris, IL Army H 1991-present

Morris, IL Army H 1967-1969

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953

Braidwood, IL Navy H 1942-1947

Morris, IL Army H 1988-2010

Morris, IL Army H 1952-1954

Morris, IL Navy H 1942-1945 Died July 4, 2003

Morris, IL Army H 1968-1970

Branson, MO Navy H 1980-1983

Dean W. Cox

Robert Craig

Don Crater

Walter Cripe

George Cromwell

William Cromwell

Andy Cronin

Curtis Cronin

Joshua Crosby

Morris, IL Army H 1953-1954

So. Wilmington, IL Army H 1952-1956 Died April 11, 2009

Cedar Lake, MN Air Force H 1968-1972

Mazon, IL Army H 1950-1958 Died April 21, 1980

Mazon, IL Coast Guard H 1942-44 Died Dec. 23, 1983

Dwight, IL Navy H active

Dwight, IL Navy H 1998-2011

Seneca, IL Army H 2004-present

James K. Cryder

Harold H. Cunning

Bill G. Daniels

Curtis Danielson

Jerome Danielson

Robert Darin

Eugene W. Datti

Bernard C. Davidson

John R. “Jack” Davidson

Elvin Davy

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953 Died July 15, 2010

So. Wilmington, IL Air Force H 1951-1953

Coal City, IL Army H 1951-1953

Marseilles, IL Army H 1946-1948 Died Jan. 7, 1982

Marseilles, IL Army H 1941-1946 Died Sept. 6, 1948

Morris, IL Marines H 1975-1979

Marseilles, IL Army H 1965-1967

Morris, IL Army H 1941-1961 Died March 15, 1981

Maurice R. “Buck” Davidson

Mark Davis

Matthew Davis

Robert Davis

Wesley J. Davis

Ryan P. Davisson

Joseph L. Davito

Lee J. Davito

Morris, IL Army H 1944-1946 Died April 25, 1994

Joliet, IL Army H 2003-present

Joliet, IL Army H 2005-present

Morris, IL Army H 1962-1964

Morris, IL Navy H 2005-present

Minooka, IL Navy H 2005-present

Coal City, IL Army Air Force H 1943-45 Died July 17, 2001

Coal City, IL Army H 1972-1975

Morris, IL Navy H 1946-1948 Died Sept. 15, 1991

Coal City, IL Army H 1945-1946 Died Nov. 22, 2001

• Thursday, November 10, 2016

Rockdale, IL Army H 1985-1988

Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com

Matthew R. Clay

Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 10, 2016

| Veterans Day Special Section

10 Glenn “Dutch” DeLong Harry Davy

Neil E. Davy

Juan R. De Leon

Glenn G. Dearth

Wilbert J. Dearth

Robert Lee Decker

Gary DeLong

Morris, IL Navy H 1958-1964

Coal City, IL Air Force H 1968-1973

Seguin, TX Army H 1970-1973

Coal City, IL Navy H 1942-1945 Died Sept. 2003

Coal City, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died 1975

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1946

Dwight, IL Marines H 1968-1970

Zachary D. DeLong

Rob Dettman

Irving DeWald

John N. Diederich

Albert Dinelli

Louis A. Dinelli

Mario D. Dinelli

Dwight/Streator, IL Marines H Korea Died 1990s

Robert DeLong

Dwight, IL Army H WWII Died 1994

Peter Dinelli

Terry Dingbaum

Dwight, IL Marines H active

Morris, IL Army H 1997-2009

Coal City, IL Navy H 1957-1976

Morris, IL Army H 1958-1963

So. Wilmington, IL Navy H 1942-1945 Died June 25, 2001

So. Wilmington, IL Army H 1943-1945 Died Nov. 21, 2011

So. Wilmington, IL Army H 1944-1946 Died April 5, 2006

So. Wilmington, IL Army H 1943-1945 Died Oct. 2, 1981

Dubuque, IA Army H 1988-1991

Tim Dippon

Raymond Dirker

Kyle Dite

Louis C. Dite

Owen P. Dite

Raymond Dite

Richard A. Dite

James W. Dolan, Jr.

James Wayne Dolan

Dwight, IL Marines H 2000-2004

Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died April 6, 2003

Terre Haute, IN Army H 2009-present

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1946 Died April 15, 1967

Joliet, IL Army H 1970-1972

Morris, IL Army H 1945-1946

Morris, IL Army H 1959-1960

Morris, IL Army H 1966-1969

Morris, IL Army H 1991-1996 Died Jan. 20, 1996

Pete Dolan

Terrence Donahue

John F. Doran

Andrew J. Downs

Jacob Downs

Michael A. Downs

Bob Drake

Dan Dransfeldt

Robert B. Duket

Diamond, IL Army H 1953-1956, 1962-1965

Morris, IL Army H 1966-1968

Dwight, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died April 10, 1959

Channahon, IL Army H 1966-1969 Died Dec. 6, 2010

New Lenox, IL Army H 2013-present

Channahon, IL Army H 1990-2008

New Lenox, IL Marines H 1941-1946 Died Sept. 13, 1999

Carl Eugene Dummitt

Mike Dummitt

Peter Dummitt

David Dunlap

Bob Durkee

Donald “Tink” Durkee

Erwin “Nick” Durkee

Morris, IL Army H 1946-1947 Died May 4, 2006

Morris, IL Army H 1969-1972

Morris, IL Marines H 1964-1988

Dwight, IL Air Force H active

Morris, IL Army H 1943-1945 Died 2007

Morris, IL Army H 1946-1948 Died 1993

Morris, IL Navy H 1944-1946 Died Sept. 20, 2011

Morris, IL Army H 1969-1971

George Durkee

Morris, IL Navy H 1944-1946 Died 1972

Rockford, IL Navy H 1942-1945 Died Feb. 13, 2005

Jim Durkee

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953 Died 1975

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Everett Egeland

Roy Egeland

Jerry Einhaus, Sr.

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953 Died Dec. 30, 2011

Morris, IL Air Force H 1965-1969

Ashland, MS Marines H 1966-1967

Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died March 7, 2005

Morris, IL Marines H 1943-1945

Diamond, IL Navy H 2009-2013

Seneca, IL Army H 1968-1970

Seneca, IL Navy H 1961-1981 Died July 14, 1986

Kenneth D. Elberson

Louie Eliakis

Steve A. Eliakis

Derek W. Ellis

Dwayne L. Ellis

Derek Elsey

John R. Ely

Harion Enervold

Harris Enervold

Morris, IL Army H 1953-1955 Died 1957

David Edge

Tyler Eichelberger

Henry (Hank) Dyer

Tom Einhaus

Morris, IL Army H 1954-1956

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died 1996

Ottawa, IL Navy H 1983-1988

Ottawa, IL Navy H 1956-1960

Dwight, IL Air Force H active

Mazon, IL Air Force H 1961-1964

Seneca, IL Marines H 1966-1970

Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1946

Olaf Enervold

Richard Enervold

Burdett O. Enger

Matt Enger

Raymond “Bud” Enger Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died Dec. 1971

William English, Jr.

So. Wilmington, IL Army H WWII Died 1994

Dale B. Eslinger

Minooka, IL Army H 1968-1972

Roger Eslinger

Thomson, IL Air Force H 1962-1966 Died March 11, 2006

O. B. Evans

Gadsden, TN Army H 1952-1954 Died June 9, 2010

Lloyd V. Fannin

Lloyd Fannin

John “Louie” Farber

John D. Farrero, Sr.

Richard Farrero

Seneca, IL Marines H 1970-1974

Morris, IL Army H 1956-1958

Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1946 Died June 20, 2005

Morris, IL Marines H 2007-2011

Wilmer “Bill” Falck

Joseph O. Fancher

Ersel Fannin

J. Marvin Fannin

Melvin, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died Oct. 16, 2005

Morris, IL Army Air ForceH1942-1945 Died 1976

Camp Dix, KY Army H 1941-1945 Died Nov. 10, 2000

Morris, IL Air Force H 1949-1954

Morris, IL Army H 1949-1952

Morris, IL Army H 1944-1945 Died 1980

Morris, IL Marines H 2007-2011

Coal City, IL Navy H 1943-1948 Died Feb. 20, 1990

Coal City, IL Army H 1966-1968

Leo Fatlan

Tom Feehan

James R. Feeney, Sr.

Richard J. Ferguson

Russell Ferguson

William M. Ferguson

Dominic Ferrari

Russell J. Finch

Bill Finfrock

Gardner, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died Feb. 21, 2010

Morris, IL Navy H 1945-1946 Died 1980

Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died Oct. 28, 1971

Morris, IL Navy Air H 1950-1954

Morris, IL Marines H 1958-1961

Morris, IL Marines H 1951-1953

Gardner, IL Army H 1958-1960

Verona, IL Navy H 1940-1945 Died June 25, 1986

Morris, IL Army H 1965-1967

• Thursday, November 10, 2016

Morris, IL Marines H 1960-1963

Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com

Vincent J. Eddy

John Durkee

The Giving Spirit

Operation St. Nick helps Grundy County veterans in times of need

By JEANNE MILLSAP – For Shaw Media Operation St. Nick has many programs that serve Grundy County residents, and one near and dear to the heart of the charity’s President Joe Schmitz is “12 Days of Christmas Giving.”

This branch of Operation St. Nick chooses 12 active military personnel or military veterans who live in Grundy County and were honorably discharged and grants them wishes worth up to $2,500 each. It’s a service Schmitz said can be a bittersweet one for him and the board.

“One veteran was struggling, raising a grandchild,” he said. “We gave him a check for his January rent. You’d think I’d given him the world. And it wasn’t that much money. . . Some of the stories we get…”

It’s a way to pay back the people who are fighting for our country, Schmitz said, and who have served our country in the past.

“Veterans, these are the people that have fought for our country, saved our country from terrorist activity, are protecting us here and all over the world,” he said, “and to be able to help them when they come home.

A lot of them are without jobs. If we can help them get through the holidays or make the holidays special for them, then it’s worth it.”

Schmitz said he and the board give first priority to servicepersons and veterans who have families and are struggling. They also give to grandparents who are veterans and having difficulty making ends meet. The gifts run the gamut in variety.

“We sent a soldier and his family to Texas for a grandfather’s funeral,” he said. “We partnered with (a funeral home) and helped a family to bury a soldier and to get an honorable burial at (Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery). We’ve purchased furniture and appliances for those who needed it.”

Another wish was granted when the program flew a soldier and his wife home from service in Europe to be with their family at Christmas. One year, Schmitz visited the home of a Morris veteran who had applied for the program. He couldn’t afford a gift for a family member’s birthday, and Schmitz took him to a local store and helped him shop for just the right present.

Grundy County Veterans Assistance Commission

Willie and Joe were the story. The average Americans who left the comforts of home and family to serve for far less pay, glory and appreciation than they earned.

Promoting the Welfare of Honorably Discharged Veterans The GCVAC can assist with most federal and state veterans benefits; such as:

The ones who were lucky returned home where they became friends, neighbors and citizens who make the fiber of our communities.

• Assistance with enrollment in the VA health care system • Assistance with VA disability compensation & pension claims • Non-emergency transportation to Hines and the Joliet clinic • Financial assistance for veterans with basic needs • VA educational benefits (GI Bill) • Burial benefits • Surviving spouse programs • Military record retrieval / discharge documents • Referral to other programs & services in Will & Grundy Counties • ALL GCVAC programs and services are FREE

Willie and Joe... Sarah and Jane... have given unmatchable gifts to all of us. November 11th is a good time to remember that those who serve may be a bit more than average Americans.

PAINT

Monthly meetings are open to veterans and the public and are held at 10am the 3rd Saturday of each month For more info call 815-941-3152 or email: vacgrundycounty@gmail.com

1802 N. Division St., Suite 405 Morris, IL 60450 SM-CL0395466

“He was standing there with tears in his eyes,” he said. “The pleasure’s really mine and the board’s. It’s such a thrill to talk to these veterans. They’re so appreciative of any kind of help. It sure makes my Christmas, I’ll tell you that. St. Francis of Assisi was right, that you really receive by giving.”

Funds for the 12 Days of Christmas Giving come mostly from Operation St. Nick’s Norton Cup, and also from the organization’s annual radio auction and other donations from the public.

Grundy County veterans who have been honorably discharged and those who are currently in active service can apply for the program themselves, or friends and family can nominate them.

Applications can be obtained at the Morris HeraldNews, 1802 N. Division Street, Suite 314, in Morris, or online at www.morrisherald-news.com/stnick. They are due Nov. 16 and may be turned in at any Standard Bank branch in Grundy County. Wishes are distributed Dec. 12-23.

Bill Mauldin was the cartoonist who created “Willie and Joe” during World War II. Although Mauldin served in Europe, was awarded a Purple Heart, and won two Pulitzer Prizes, he’s not the story.

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Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 10, 2016

| Veterans Day Special Section

12

PAPER AND FRAMES

525 Liberty • Morris • 942-3133 Open Daily 7:30-5:30 (parking available south of the building for your convenience)

“Just give me the aspirin. I already got a Purple Heart.”

Bill Mauldin Stars and Stripes (1944)

13

Leonard R. Fioritto

William Finn

Leonard Fioritto

Dale W. Fitch

Gary P. Fitzmaurice

Maurice Fleetwood

Bob Flynn

Rocky L. Flynn

Coal City, IL Army H 1970-1972

Coal City, IL Army H 1942-1945

Coal City, IL Army H 1943-1946 Died March 11, 1996

Coal City, IL Air Force H 1966-1970

Morris, IL Army H 1968-1970

Morris, IL Air Force H 1963-1967

Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died Oct. 29, 1973

Morris, IL Navy H 1948-1952

Morris, IL Marines H 1968-1969

Dorsey Foster

Morris, IL Navy H 1981-1985

Nathan Fox

Dwight, IL Marines H 2006-2010

Jessica (Claypool) Franz Morris, IL Marines H 2007-2010

Howard Fread

Morris, IL Army H 1917-1919 Died 1980

Gerald L. Friant

Morris, IL Army H 1964-1965

Glenn Friant

Morris, IL Army H 1958-1961

Leonard Friddle

Coal City, IL Army H 1965-1968

Natalie Friend

Morris, IL Air Force H 1981-1985

Larry J. Frosch

Thomson, IL Air Force H 1961-1965 Died 2011

William E. Fruland

Raymond D. Gaddo

Kevin J. Gaffney

Marvin J. Gagliardo

Jim Gallagher

Norval Galloway

Robert A. Gallup

Gene Gang

Maurice G. Gantzert

Morris, IL Air Force H 1974-2000

Poplar Grove, IL Navy H 2003-2012

Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died May 9, 2007

Coal City, IL Army H 1952-1953 Died June 17, 2011

Seneca, IL Navy H 1987-1991

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Streator, IL Army H 1942-1945

Verona, IL Air Corp. H 1942-1946

Morris, IL Navy H 1952-1956

Mazon, IL Army H 1941-1963 Died Jan. 8, 1989

To all our Veterans and active duty military, we thank you for your service.

Angela Lilek Loan Officer 124 E. Main Street Morris, IL 60540

1-800-443-8780 ext. 2920

124 E. Main St. • Morris, IL 60450 • www.ffsbweb.com

We Salute Our Veterans To all our veterans and active-duty military, we thank you for your service

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• Thursday, November 10, 2016

On a day like today, it is important to remember freedom is not free.

Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com

Daniel Finn

Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 10, 2016

| Veterans Day Special Section

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Robert Garcia

Charles “Chuck” Garling Morris, IL Army H 1952-1954 Died March 1, 2007

Lando Gingerich

Roy Gleen

Morris, IL Marines H 1963-1967

Kalona, IA Air Force H 1950-1954

Morris, IL Army H 1941-1953 Died Feb. 14, 2005

Leonard Don Goodwin

Roger M. Gordon

Crestview, FL Marines H 1953-1955 Died Nov. 8, 2006

Ole M. Greenley, Sr.

Phil Gilbert

Reddick/Gardner, IL Army H 1940-1945 Died Nov. 10, 2006

Bob Gilbertson

Morris, IL Army H 1969-1971

Ralph Gilbertson, Sr.

Dick Gilchrist

John Gilchrist

Mazon, IL Army H 1944-1946 Died Nov. 5, 2008

Coal City, IL Army H 1953-1955

Coal City, IL Marines H 1968-1970

Coal City, IL Army H 1957-1959

Mazon, IL Army H 1943-1946

Edward J. Glenney

Lyle Goff

Keith Golimowski

Michael Golimowski

James W. Gonnam

Jesse W. Gonnam

Ronald Goode

LeRoy Gilmoure

Morris, IL Navy H 1956-1960

Morris, IL Air Force H 1966-1969

Morris, IL Army H 2009-present

Morris, IL Army H 1968-1970

Verona, IL Army H 1972-1974

Verona, IL Air Force H 1941-1945 Died Aug. 2, 2002

Mazon, IL Army H 1968-1970

Edna Roach Graham

L. Rice Graham

Tracy N. Graham

John Gram

Elmer T. Granger

Tom Granger

Ole M. Greenley, Jr.

Palmyra, IL Air Force H 1949-1953 Died May 30, 1989

Nicholas W. Gregoire

Camp Point, IL Army Flight NurseH1941-45 Died March 1986

Griffin, GA Navy H 1941-1945 Died Feb. 2002

Morris, IL Navy H 2003-2008 Coast GuardH2009-present

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953

So. Wilmington, IL Army H 1946 Died Feb. 23, 2009

So. Wilmington, IL National Guard H 1976-1981

Morris, IL Navy H 1969-1970 Died Oct. 11, 2013

Dale Grieff

William J. Griffiths

Eric Gronski

Eddie Grove

Robert L. Gualandi

Mervin “Bud” Guard Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1946 Died Dec. 2000

Stephen Guard

Morris, IL Army H 1969-1972

Lars M. Hansen

Leonard M. Hansen

Morris, IL Navy H 1941-1945 Died Aug. 25, 1974

Morris, IL Marines H 2003-2006

So. Wilmington, IL Army H 1968-1970

Mazon, IL Army H 1949-1953 Died March 6, 1996

Babcock, WI Army H 1965-1968

Morris, IL Army H Korean War Died March 13, 1996

Braceville, IL Marines H 1987-1997

Gary Gunnerson

Chris Guthrie

Elwood Hahn

George W. Hall

William S. Halterman

Daniel Hamric

Harvey A. Hansen

Morris, IL Army H 1965-1967

Richard A. Gilmour

Morris, IL Air Force H 2010-present

Morris, IL Navy H 1953-1961

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died April 23, 2015

Mazon, IL Army Air Corp.H1941-45 Died Nov. 19, 2014

Morris, IL Army H 1988-1992

Morris, IL Air Force H 1943-1946 Died Jan. 27, 2013

Morris, IL Army H 1917-1919 Died Feb. 2, 1969

Morris, IL Army H 1950-1952

15

Sherman Hansen

Jerry Hanson

Lloyd Hanson

Raymond Hanson

Stanley Hanson

Wally Hanson

William Hanson

Willis J. Hanson, Jr.

Morris, IL Army H 1944-1946 Died 1988

Morris, IL Seabees H 1946-1949 Died Oct. 26, 2006

Bristol, IL Army H 1964-1966

Sheridan, IL Army H 1951-1953 Died Feb. 28, 2008

Newark, IL H Army H Died Jan. 31, 1955

Lisbon, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died May 29, 1964

Morris, IL Coast Guard H 1969-1973

Morris, IL H Army H Died June 26, 1988

Morris, IL Air Force H 1967-1971 Died Sept. 3, 2014

Willis J. Hanson, Sr.

David A. Harper

Joshua W. Harris

George E. Harrop

Henry D. Harseim

Donald Harvey

Josh Harvey

Lonnie Harvey

Merrill C. Harvey

Morris, IL Army H 1944-1946 Died March 15, 2003

Morris, IL Army H 1965-1967

Romeoville/Forest Park, IL Army Nat’l GuardH2005 Died Sept. 17, 2008

Gardner, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died Nov. 10, 2013

Morris, IL Army H 1965-1968

Braceville, IL Air Force H 1965-1969

Gardner, IL Navy H 2011

Coal City, IL Army/Air Force H 1982-1988, 2005-2011

Gardner, IL Army H 1964-1966 Died Oct. 8, 2015

Maynard Hawkins

George Heap

Ron Heap

Trent Heap

John Heavens

William Heermann

Nathan Hefner

Arnold Helgeson

Bennie Helland

Morris, IL Army H 1939-1941 Died Jan. 23, 2014

Morris, IL Air Force H 1943-1945

Morris, IL Army H 1965-1967

Morris, IL Army H 1989-1993

Coal City, IL Air Corps H 1963-1966

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1956 Died April 19, 2009

Minooka, IL Army H 1995-present

Morris, IL Coast Guard H 1942-1945

Morris, IL Army H 1953-1955

Joseph G. Hemmersbach

Raymond E. Hemmersbach

Victor D. Hemmersbach

Adam Henderson

Jake Hendrix

Jay Hendrix

Herbert Hentschel

Duane L. Heren

Gil Herrera

Morris, IL Air Force H 1973-1977

Morris, IL Air Force H 1968-1972

Morris, IL Air Force H 1966-1970

Morris, IL Marines H 2004-2008

Wedron, IL Marines H 1963-1967 Died April 18, 1993

Jupiter, FL Army H 1986-1996

Morris, IL Navy H 1964-1970

Green Valley, IL Army H 1951-1952

New Lenox, IL Army H 2001-2009

Leslie E. Hertenstein

Myron L. Hexdall

John Hextell

Ronald G. Hibler

Daniel Hicks

Greg Higgins

John R. Higgins

Merlyn Higgins

Ruth Hiles

Coal City, IL Army H 1943-1946 Died Jan. 5, 2003

Morris, IL Army H 1961-1963

Morris, IL Army H 1962-1968 Died Feb. 3, 1992

Coal City, IL Army H 1965-1967

Marseilles, IL Air Force H 1948-1952

Seneca, IL Army H 2006-2010

Seneca, IL Army H 1951-1953

Seneca, IL Army H 1951-1953

Morris, IL Navy H WWII

Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 10, 2016

Lowell R. Hansen

Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 10, 2016

| Veterans Day Special Section

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William Hiles

Earlyn K. Hill

Elton J. Hill

Lester M. Hill

Merwin F. Hill

Andrew M. Hillegass

Vernon Hilt, Sr.

Bill Hiney

Gary Hively

Morris, IL Navy H WWII Died July 21, 2001

Mazon, IL Army H 1944-1945 Died May 18, 1964

Gardner, IL Army H 30 years Died Jan. 10, 1988

Mazon, IL Army H 1943-1945 Died March 14, 1945

Mazon, IL Army H 1942-1946 Died April 3, 2008

Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died Sept. 14, 2004

Lisbon, IL Army H 1944 Died July 13, 2003

Morris, IL Army H 1965-1967

Minooka, IL Navy H 1990-present

Wayne Hodgson

Ralph Holbrook

Noel Holman

Raymond Holzhauer

Stephen Homerding

Timothy Hood

Elizabeth Hortega

Josiah Hortega

William “Bill” Horton

Steven M. Huettemann

Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died July, 2008

Minooka, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died Sept. 18, 1975

Cedar Point, IL Navy H 1951-1955 Died March 4, 2007

Dwight, IL H Marines H KIA March 15, 2007

Plainfield, IL Army H WWII Died Oct. 1, 2001

Morris, IL Navy H 2006-present

Ottawa, IL Navy H 2002-2007

Ottawa, IL Marines H 1998-2006

Gerald R. Houchin

Keith O. Houchin

Harold G. Hougas

Irvin L. Hougas, Sr.

James E. Hougas

Troy Householder

Willard Howen

Nicholas Huerta

Yorkville, IL Army H 1956-1958 Died 1994

Seneca, IL Marines H 1957-1972 Died Nov. 18, 1972

Seneca, IL Marines H 1952-1956 Died April 22, 2010

Marseilles, IL Army H 1951-1953

Morris, IL Marines H 1943-1945 Died March 1, 1945

Morris, IL Army H 1952-1956 Died Sept. 11, 2009

Morris, IL Air Force H 1986-1989

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1946 Died June 4, 1993

Braceville, IL Army H active

Peru, IL Army H Desert Sheild/ Desert Storm

Brian Humbert

Albert L. Hume

Michael T. Hume

Robert A. Hume

Dennis Huston

Robert Hutchings

Roy Hutchings, Jr.

Ronald Hutton

Gary L. Ingraham

Dwight, IL Navy H active

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died 1993

Morris, IL Army H 1972-1974

Morris, IL Navy H 1968-1972

Gardner, IL Navy H 1964-1968

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953

Morris, IL Army H 1945-WWII Died Dec. 24, 2001

Wilmington, IL Army H 1965-1967 Died June 19, 2012

Verona, IL Navy H 1957-1979

Robert H. Inman

John Iverson

Melvin L. Jackman

Barry W. Jaicomo

Walter Jaicomo

William J. Jaicomo

Ronald Jamieson

Alfred “Red” Jenkins

Carroll Jewett

Coal City, IL Air Force H 1943-1945

Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1945 Died Aug. 14, 1993

Gardner, IL Army H 1954-1956

So. Wilmington, IL Army H 1968-1970

So. Wilmington, IL Army H WWII Died Dec. 4, 1982

So. Wilmington, IL Navy H 1943-1946 Died March 4, 2011

Dwight, IL Army H 1983-2010

Mazon, IL Army H 1965-1967

Mazon, IL Marines H 1918-1919 Died 1977

17 Morris, IL H Marines H Died June 7, 1967

George Jisa

Carl R. Johnson

Donald Johnson

Gary LeRoy Johnson

Gene A. Johnson

Harold F. Johnson

Harry A. Johnson

Coal City, IL Coast Guard H 1941-1947 Died Oct. 29, 1997

Chicago, IL Navy H 1941-1945

Verona, IL Army H 1958-1960

Morris, IL Air Force H 1966-1970

Newark, IL Army H 1952-1954

Gardner, IL Marines H 1943-1945

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died May 10, 1975

Dr. Larry C. Johnson

Lavern Johnson

LeRoy Palmer Johnson

Lester W. Johnson

Oliver Johnson

Scott Johnson

Silas Johnson

John O. Johnson

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died Jan. 24, 2010

Vernon E. Johnson

Vernon K. Johnson

Brookfield, MO Army H 1969-1972

Morris, IL Air Force H 1963-1967

Morris, IL Seabees H 1966-1968

Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died Oct. 7, 2006

Morris, IL Air Force H 1942-1944 Died April 1, 1944

Mazon, IL Army H 1971-1973

Morris, IL Army H 1917-1921 Died July 24, 1959

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died April 28, 2000

Joliet, IL Army Air Force H 1944-46 Died Jan. 3, 1986

Hank Jones

Wesley E. Jorstad

Michael H. Joyce

Harold Kaldheim

Helen Kaldheim

Robert R. Keech

Scott A. Keech

Ben F. Kelly

Jacob A. Kelly

Morris, IL Navy H 1944-1946 Died Dec. 27, 2008

So. Wilmington, IL Navy H 1944-1946

Seneca, IL Army H 1942-1946 Died July 23, 2003

Seneca, IL Air Corp. H 1942-1945

Morris, IL Navy H 1945-1946 Died March 22, 2013

Morris, IL Navy H 1977-1981

Morris, IL Army Air Corp. H 1942-46

Mazon, IL Marines H 2013-present

Marvin Kessler

Coal City, IL Navy H 1945-1946

Robert M. Kimmey

Braceville, IL Army H 1968-1970

Raymond C. “Dick” Kindelspire Morris, IL Army Air Corp. H 1941-45 Died Aug. 28, 2005

Larry L. Kingman

Morris, IL Army H 1953-1955 Died March 9, 2012

Jessica Klein

Morris, IL Navy H 1999-2007

Earl F. Kleinfeldt

Morris, IL Navy Air CorpH1942-45 Died Jan. 25, 2008

J. E. Kleinfeldt

Morris, IL Navy H 1966-1970

Lee E. Kleinfeldt

Morris, IL Army H 1972-1974

Cate Klepacki

Dwight, IL Air Force H active

George F. Knudson

Gerald R. Knudson

Nathan D. Knutson

Harry Kolb

Don Komnick

John Kopczick

Raymond A. Kopczick

Stanley “Ike” Kopczick

Albert Kowalczyk

Morris, IL Army H 1953-1955 Died 1999

Minooka, IL Army H 1951-1953

Newark, IL Army H 2010-present

Morris, IL Marines H 1941-1946 Died 1969

Morris, IL Army H 1968-1970

Morris, IL Army H Korean War Died 1964

Morris, IL Army Air Corp.H1940-46 Died 1995

Morris, IL Navy H WWII Died 1970

Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1946 Died Dec. 29, 1975

• Thursday, November 10, 2016

Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died Nov. 11, 2009

Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com

Jesse L. Johnson

Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 10, 2016

| Veterans Day Special Section

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Ami Kowalczyk

Dennis E. Kowalczyk

Richard Kowalczyk

Marc Krakar

Carl Kramer

Russell Kukman

Frank Kulig

Frank B. Kuntz

Gary L. Kuntz

Morris, IL Navy H 2007-2009

Morris, IL Army H 1966-1969

Morris, IL Navy H 1961-1965

Joliet, IL Marines H 1956-1958

Morris, IL Navy H 1953-1957

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953

Morris, IL Navy H 1944-1945 Died 2010

Strawn, IL Army H 1941-1962 Died April 20, 2012

Morris, IL Navy H 1959-1962

Gary R. Kuriger

William R. Kuriger

Ron Kyrouac

Charles Labaj

Walter R. Lacyk

James F. Lamie

Kurt Lamping

William J. Lanning

Daniel Lardi

Coal City, IL Army H 1972-1974

Coal City, IL Army H 1946-1947

Harvey, IL Army H 1953-1955

Crete, IL Navy H WWII

Morris, IL Army H 1950-1952

Coal City, IL Army H 1917-1919 Died March 9, 1968

Morris, IL Army H 1987-2011

Morris, IL Navy H 1962-1966 Died March 3, 2012

So. Wilmington, IL Army H 1966-1968

Keith Larson

Milford “Muff ” Larson Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953

David E. Latham

Essex, IL Air Force H 1968-1971 Died Jan. 12, 1991

John T. Latham, Jr.

Custer Park, IL Army H 1964-1967

John T. Latham, Sr.

Essex, IL Army H 1939-1945 Died Sept. 4, 1965

Joe Laughary

Morris, IL Army Air CorpH1940-45

Keith Laughary

Morris, IL Marines H 1970-1972

Kevin Laughary

Morris, IL Navy H 2002-present

Kurt Laughary

Morris, IL Navy H 2002-present

Ruth Laughary

Gary L. Lawless

Walter L. Lawless

Ray Layton

Arthur R. Leach

Rich Leach

Harry Leasure

Frank D. Lee

George E. Lee

Morris, IL Army H 1958-1961

Massillon, OH Navy H 2003-present

Gardner, IL Army H 1970-1972

Gardner, IL Navy H 1945-1953

Richmond Hill, GA Army H 1960-1962

Morris, IL Naval Aviation H 1942-1946

Morris, IL Navy H 1959-1965

Morris, IL Navy H 1947-1950 Died Jan. 11, 2011

Elgin, IL Marines H 1958, 8 yrs Reserves

Elgin, IL Army H 1954-1956

Kevin W. Leeds

Tim Lehman

Daniel L. Leiter

Dennis Lenzie

Donald Lenzie

Allan O. Leranger

Lindsay Leskanich

Eugene E. Lewis

Norman Lewis

Morris, IL Air Force H 1984-1988

Dwight, IL Marines H 2002-2008

Coal City, IL Air Force H 1981-1985

Gardner, IL Army H 1967-1968

Gardner, IL Army H 1959-1960 Died 1965

Morris, IL Marines H 1969 Died May 20, 2008

Dwight, IL Army H active

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1954 Died Aug. 19, 2001

Morris, IL Marines H 1952-1955

19

Morris, IL Navy H 2003-2008

Ray L. Lindley

Morris, IL Army H 1965-1967

Terry Livingston

Coal City, IL Army H 1966-1968

Scott Lock

Morris, IL Navy H 1980-2000

Alan D. Love

Morris, IL Marines H 1965-1969

Granville A. Love

Morris, IL Navy H 1942-1945 Died Sept. 1992

Clifford A. Lowery

Mazon, IL Army Air Corp. H 1942-1945

William W. Lowery

Christopher Lutz

Mazon, IL Marines H 1968-1971

Morris, IL Navy H 1993-1999

Joseph A. Macaluso

Joseph M. Macaluso

Samuel L. Lyons

Coal City, IL Army/Civil WarH1864-1865

Frank Lutz

Lavern R. Lutz

Robert Lynes

Donald Lyon

Henry A. Lyons

Henry E. Lyons

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953

Morris, IL Army Air Force H 1943-45 Died July 10, 1970

Morris, IL Army H 1959-1965

Coal City, IL Air Force H 1950-1954

Coal City, IL Army/WWI H 1918-1919

Robert S. Macdonald

Donald Madison

Norman R. Madison

Francis M. Maierhofer

Bernard Mallaney

Richard “Dick” Malone Morris, IL Army H 1946-1947 Died April 20, 2003

Amboy, IL Army H 1961-1964

Morris, IL Coast Guard H 1942-1946

Morris, IL Navy H 1951-1955

Kenneth Matteson

Russell Matteson

Fred Matuszewski

John F. Maunder

Morris, IL Army H 1943-1946 Died Sept. 3, 2001

Mazon, IL Army H 1943-1946 Died March 17, 2001

Mazon, IL Army CIA H 1953-1955

Seneca, IL Air Force H 1950-1953

Kinsman, IL Army H 1942-1946 Died Jan. 10, 2015

Robert D. Martis

David M. Maskel

Emmett Maskel

Clyde F. Mason

Gerald Matteson

Lawrence P. Marchesi

Coal City, IL Navy H 1940-1943 Died Feb. 7, 2003

Coal City, IL Army H 1964-1966

Walter Marnell

William V. Martin

Coal City, IL Army H 1951-1953

Morris, IL Army H 1958-1961

Morris, IL Army H 1952-1954 Died Aug. 23, 2001

Morris, IL Marines H 1943-1945 Died Sept. 7, 2012

Morris, IL Army H 1953-1954

Newark/Morris, IL Air Force H 1957-1961

Morris, IL Army H 1943-1946 Died May 27, 1967

Morris, IL Army H 1956-1962

Morris, IL Army H 1943-1945

John Mazza

Gene L. McArdle

Jim McCleary

Dennis McCluckie

Earl (Mickey) McComas

Donald P. McCormack

Forrest McCormack

James R. McCormack

Kenneth McCormack

Mazon, IL Air Force H 1987-present

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died April 3, 1969

Morris, IL Army H 1965-1966 Died Feb. 25, 1966

Morris, IL Army H 1966-1968

Morris, IL Navy H 1942-1954

Verona, IL Army H 1965-1968

Mazon, IL Army H 1963-1965

Mazon, IL Marines H 1964-1971

Verona, IL Marines H 1965-1969

• Thursday, November 10, 2016

Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1945

Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com

Adam Lindley

| Veterans Day Special Section

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Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 10, 2016

La Verne McCormack

Ken McCoy

Joseph B. McGuan

Paul E. McIntosh

Jeremy N. McKinney

Donald Dean McKinney

Donald R. McMillan, Jr.

Jerry Jon McLuckie

John Wilton “Bill” McLuckie Coal City, IL Army H 1943-1945 Died March 21, 2000

Gardner, IL Air Force H 1985-1989

Robert T. Meredith

Ed Meridith

Verona, IL Army H 1944-1945 Died March 10, 2009

Mazon, IL Army H 1966-1969 Died Dec. 2, 1976

Morris, IL Marines H 1963-1967 Died April 14, 2006

Diamond, IL Army H 1964-1966

Coal City, IL Army H 1942-1946

Coal City, IL Navy H 2002-2006

Coal City, IL Army H 1971-1975

Mack McMillin

John McNabb

Kate Meadows

Richard Meadows

Ron E. Menees

Jackie L. Meredith

Llyod W. Meredith

Coal City, IL Army H 1945-1946 Died Sept. 2, 2013

Morris, IL Army H 1967-1969

Morris, IL Navy H 2000-present

Morris, IL Navy H 1966-1972

Seneca, IL Marines H 1953-1958

Braceville, IL Army H 1959-1961

Braceville, IL Army H 1948-1952

Braceville, IL Army H 1957-1959

Morris, IL Navy H 1951-1953 Died March 10, 2000

James R. Meridith

Dominic J. Messina

Robert L. Metroz

John (Jack) Micetich

P. J. (Joe) Micetich

Alan H. Miller

Henry “Hank” Miller Coal City, IL Navy H 1943-1945 Died 2006

Jacob D. Miller

Coal City, IL Marines H 2009-present

Lynn “Mike” Miller

Morris, IL Navy H 1945-1946, 1950-1952

Richard Mitchell

Elton L. Monson

Jim Moran

Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1946 Died March 27, 2001

Tinley Park, IL Army H 2003-2010

Morris, IL Marines H 1998-2002

Coal City, IL Army H 1955-1956

Coal City, IL Army H 1943-1946 Died Nov. 10, 1968

Clifton, IL Navy H 1965-1980

Orville (Buck) Miller

Raleigh Miller

Sean Miller

William E. Miller

Joseph Misener

Terry Misener

Coal City, IL Navy H 1956-1958

Diamond, IL Army Air Force H 1942-45 Died May 2000

Columbia, MO Navy H active

Elgin, IL Army H 1946-1948 Died Feb. 4, 2002

Morris, IL Army H 1968-1970

Mazon, IL Army H 1967-1969

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953 Died May 24, 2002

Morris, IL Marines H 1953-1955

Mazon, IL Army H 1970-1972

Saluting the United States Armed Forces

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The country and it’s people are in your debt.

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21

John Morris, Jr.

John Morris

Wayne Morris

Bill Morse

Thomas D. Mostyn

Morris, IL Marines H 1942-1945 Died Nov. 7, 1992

Channahon, IL Navy H 1989-1993

Channahon, IL Army H 1965-1967 Viet Nam

Coal City, IL Navy H 1965-1969

Morris, IL Army H 1954-1956

Lockport, IL Merchant MarinesH1943-45 Died 1989

J. F. Murphy

Terry Muscato

David S. Musgrave

Richard O. “Dick” Myers

John Nagra

Tim Nagra

James Mulcahy

Streator, IL Navy H 1943-1946

H. Wayne Neal

Mark Munger

Dwight, IL Marines H 1986-2011

Bill E. Nelson

Adam Murphy

Coal City, IL Army H 1914-1916 Died June 12, 1968

Gerald Nelson

Streator, IL Marines H 1967-1971

Minooka, IL Navy H 1985-1994

Morris, IL Navy H 1964-1967 Died Dec. 31, 1998

Joliet, IL Army H 1943-1945 Died Nov. 28, 1988

Morris, IL Navy H 1976-1979

Coal City, IL Navy H 1946-1947

Morris, IL Navy H 1965-1967

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953

Ivan M. Nelson

Jack E. Nelson

Mitchell D. Nelson

Donald Neville

Elmer E. Newell

Richard “Dick” Newell Morris, IL Navy H 1951-1955

Charles John (Jack) Newport

Belvidere, IL Army H 1950-1951 Killed in Action Aug. 27, 1951

Gwendolyn Babcock Newport

Morris, IL Navy Nurses Corp.H1943-47 Died August 2009

James Newport

Kinsman, IL Air Force H 1941-1945 Died 1994

Cliff Nighsonger

Delbert J. Noble

John Nolan

Dale Norton

Newark, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died Nov. 7, 2009

Wilmington, IL Navy H 1943-1946 Died March 21, 2005

Mazon, IL Army H 1953-1955 Died 1980

Green Bay, WI Air Force H 1957-1961 Died Oct. 29, 2011

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1946 Died July 6, 2001

Madison Nguyen

Larry E. Nickels

Danny Niewinski

Henry H. Niewinski

Henry W. Niewinski

Dwight, IL Marines H active

Morris, IL Navy H 1969-1975

Morris, IL Navy H 2012-present

Morris, IL Army H Korean War

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Morris, IL Army H WWII

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945

Wheaton, IL Army H 1951-1953 Died March 1, 1994

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Alto Pass, IL Army H 1965-1967 Died Dec. 26, 2014

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• Thursday, November 10, 2016

Morris, IL Navy H 1942-1945 Died Oct. 6, 1995

Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Daily Herald / morrisdailyherald.com

James W. Morrall

Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 10, 2016

| Veterans Day Special Section

22

Terry C. Novotney

Chris Nugent

George Nugent

Jeremiah Nugent, Sr.

Jerry Nugent

Mike Nugent

Patrick W. Nugent

Thomas Nugent

Erik Nusbaumer

Streator, IL Army H 1959-1961

Wilmington, IL Army H 1980-1984

Morris, IL Navy H 1974-1978

Wilmington, IL Army H 1950-1953 Died March 8, 1996

Coal City, IL Air Force H 1975-1979

Wilmington, IL Army H 1976-1980

Wilmington, IL Navy H 1990-1997

Coal City, IL Air Force H 1980-2001

Morris, IL Air Force H active

Gerald O’Brien

Jack J. O’Hagen

Michael O’Hagen

Tyler Oelschlager Dwight, IL Navy H active

Robert W. Ollerman

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died July 15, 1980

Gene Olson

Seneca, IL Air Force H 1950-1953 Died April 10, 2002

Gregory T. Olson

Morris, IL Navy H 1971-1975

Larry Olson

Morris/Mazon, IL Army H 1968-1969

Maury Olson

Gardner, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died Jan. 8, 2012

Roger L. Olson

Violet R. Olson

Joseph E. Opyd

Leo Paul Opyd, Sr.

Leon Paul Opyd, III

Leon Paul Opyd, Jr.

Minooka, IL Army H 1963-1965

Chicago, IL Marines H 1947-1955 Died Dec. 1, 2003

Morris, IL Marines H 1990-1995

Newan S. Olson

Richard O. Olson

Robert F. Olson

Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died 1974

Monmouth, IL Navy H 1955-1957 Died Jan. 2, 2012

Morris, IL Navy H 1942-1946

Braceville, IL Army H 1966-1968

Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1967 Died Oct. 31, 2003

Coal City, IL Army H 1997-2008

Gardner, IL Army H 1943-1945 Died June 4, 2002

Coal City, IL Army H 1990-1993

Gardner, IL Army H 1970-1972

Luke Opyd

Dennis Orvis

Lawrence Orvis

Gordon Osmundson

LaVerne Osmundson

Elwyn E. Oswood

Milburn J. Oswood

Douglas Overbeck

Edward Pacchetti

Gardner, IL Navy H 2010-present

Seneca, IL Navy H 1967-1969

Seneca, IL Army H 1966-1969

Morris, IL Army H 1943-1945 Died Sept. 19, 2014

Morris, IL Air Force H 1943-1946 Died Jan. 17, 1978

Morris, IL Army H 1950-1952 Died Dec. 31, 1999

Morris, IL Navy H 1944-1946 Died Oct. 11, 2003

Minooka, IL Navy H 1976-1984

Coal City, IL Army H 1942-1944 Died Oct. 2, 1988

Gary Patton

Jeff Paulson

Willis Peacock

Delmar A. Peel

Arthur Patterson

Seneca, IL Army H 1941-1944 Died March 28, 2003

Albert C. Pankey

Clifton, IL Army H WWI Died 1963

Dennis N. Pankey

Clifton, IL Army H 1972-1974

Gerald J. Pankey

Clifton, IL Army H 1946-1948 Died 1999

Dick Parker

Morris, IL Army H 101st Airborne 1962-1964

Ottawa, IL Marines H 1966-1969

Morris, IL Navy H 1991-1993

Morris, IL Army H 1944-1945 Died March 23, 2001

Morris, IL Navy H 1941-1945 Died Sept. 30, 1996

23

John L. Perry

Eugene G. “Pete” Peterson Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died Oct. 23, 2013

Morris, IL Marines H 1943-1947

Morris IL Navy H 1981-1992

Gardner, IL Marines H 1951-1953

Jonesboro, AR Army H 1966-1968

Braceville, IL Army H 1943 Died 1985

John Phillips, Jr.

John M. Phillips, Sr.

Joseph T. Phillips, Jr.

Joseph T. Phillips, Sr.

Robert Phillips

Walter A. Phillips, Sr.

Morris, IL Navy H 1962-1966 Died Feb. 13, 2005

Morris, IL Navy H 1953-1956

Morris, IL Navy H 1944-1946

George W. Phillips

James R. Phillips, Sr.

John (Jack) Phillips

Morris, IL Marines H 1953-1955 Died Feb. 6, 1977

Coal City, IL Marines H 1968-1972

Coal City, IL Marines H 1953-1955 Died Jan. 16, 2005

Coal City, IL Navy H 1976-1979

Melvin A. Peterson

Minooka, IL Marines H 1941-46, 48-53 Died Sept. 20, 2001

Tim Pfaff

Coal City, IL Marines H 1953-1955

Donald L. Pfeifer, Sr.

Albert Phillips

Agnes Peterson

Coal City, IL Navy H 1943-1945 Died Nov. 5, 1984

Morris, IL Marines H 1953-1955

Clarence Phillips

Morris, IL Marines H 1948-1952 Died Nov. 4, 1995

Thomas F. Powell

Coal City, IL Navy H 1944-1945 Died Nov. 30, 1999

Frank Picciariello

Coal City, IL Army H 1960-1962 Died Nov. 11, 1991

Edward L. Pierard

Coal City, IL Army H 1957-1963

Richard Pierce

Morris, IL Army H 1954-1956 Died March 27, 2007

Albert J. Pilch

Chicago, IL H Army Air Force H 1944-1946

Russel Dale Pine

Morris, IL Navy H 1945-1948 Died 1948

Wayne E. Pine

Morris, IL Army H 1918

David G. Platt

Morris, IL Marines H 1966-1972 Died Sept. 1, 1975

Glenn Pope

Channahon, IL Air Force H 1967-1971

Dwight, IL Army H active

John Prebeg

Milan Prebeg

John F. Progress

Mark Prosser

Ivan Provance

Joliet, IL Army H WWII Died 2013

Joliet, IL Army H WWII Deceased

Seneca, IL Army H 1951-1953 Died Nov. 16, 2002

Joliet, IL Army H 2004-2-12

Coal City, IL H Navy H Died March 9, 2005

Morris, IL Navy H 1997-2000

Curtis Rasmusson

Ronald J. Rath

Francis M. Reano

John K. Reed

R. Edward Reed

James I. Reeves

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953

Morris, IL Army H 1969-1971

Diamond, IL Navy Air Corp. H 1944-46 Died Aug. 25, 2011

Morris, IL Air Force H 1989-present

Morris, IL Navy H 1993-1997

G. Herbert Ranz

Amity Taylor Provenzano

Coal City, IL Army Air ForceH1943-45 Died April 14, 1989

James W. Reeves

Morris, IL Navy H 2003-present

Michael A. Ranz

Morris, IL Army Air Force H 1941-45 Died Oct. 27, 2004

Morris, IL Navy H 1969-1971

Joseph L. Reeves

Edward J. Reiser

Morris, IL Navy H 2009-present

Channahon, IL Army H 1967-1973 Died July 13, 2009

• Thursday, November 10, 2016

Patrick Rafferty

Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Daily Herald / morrisdailyherald.com

Delmar L. “Butch” Peel

Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 10, 2016

| Veterans Day Special Section

24

Leon J. Residori

Gary Rickmon

Kimberly Rieck

Dana Riegel

Jeremy Riegel

Paul L. Riegle

Timothy P. Riegle

George James Ringer

Jon Ringer

So. Wilmington, IL Army H 1960-1962

Morris, IL Army H 1983-1986

Dwight, IL Navy H active

Dwight, IL Army H active

Dwight, IL Army H active

Brook, IN Navy H 1957-1960

Morris, IL Navy H 1982-2002

Indianapolis, IN Marines H 1982-2003

Webster City, IA Army H 1967-1969

Martin J. Riordan, Jr.

Harold Ritke

Eugene Robertson

Brian Robisky

Dennis Robisky

Korey Rodrick

Kenneth Roe

Leland M. Roe

Wilmer Roe

Romeoville, IL Navy H 1941-1945 Died Jan. 7, 1994

Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1945 Died Jan. 10, 2010

Morris, IL Navy H 1966-1970

Dwight, IL Air Force H active

Dwight, IL Air Force H active

Dwight, IL Nat’l Guard H Reservist

Seamon, OH Army H 1942-1945 Died March 15, 1965

Odell, IL Army Air Force H 1943-45

Piketon, OH Army H 1943-1945 Died Sept. 2006

Robert T. Rogers

John J. Ronchetti

Keith Roseland

Wayne Roseland

Richard Rosencrans

Randall E. Rosengren

John B. Ross

John Roth, Jr.

John Roth, Sr.

Morris, IL Seabees H 1966-1968

Coal City, IL Army Air Force H 1943-45

Coal City, IL Army H 1969-1971

Coal City, IL Navy H 1943-1945 Died April 15, 2014

Seneca, IL Army H 1952-1954

Serena, IL Army H 1969-1970

Coal City, IL Army Air Corp.H1918-1919

Morris, IL Army H 1966-1968

Morris, IL Army/Air Force H 1942-45 Died April 29, 1977

Louis Ruffatti

Luverne Runestad

Marty Runestad

Orliss L. Runestad

Shawn P. Runge

Davis A. Runion

Clinton Ryder

Robert J. Ryder

William Richard Ryder

John R. Sanders, Jr.

Coal City, IL Army H 1954-1956

Morris, IL Army H 1944-1946 Died Jan. 13, 2013

Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945

Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1946 Died Nov. 11, 2009

Warsaw, IL Navy H 1984-1990

Morris, IL Marines H 2013

Morris, IL Army H 1964-1968

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1946 Died Nov. 14, 2007

Joseph T. Sajnaj

Mark J. Sajnaj

Michael G. Sajnaj, Jr.

Michael G. Sajnaj

Gordon Sampson

Orville L. “Bud” Sampson

Ronald Sampson

David Sandeno

LaSalle/Morris, IL Coast Guard H 1948-52

Morris, IL Air Force H 1985-1989

Morris, IL Navy H 2006-present

Morris, IL Navy Seabees H 1980-89

Morris, IL Navy H 1945-1947

Morris, IL Army Air Corp. H 1943-45 Died May 29, 1998

Morris, IL Marines H 1943-1945 Died Dec. 25, 2008

Mazon/Verona, IL Army H 1969-1970

Morris, IL Navy H 1971-1974

Morris, IL Army H 1967-1970

25

• Thursday, November 10, 2016

The first time I met him... even the first few times I worked with him...I didn’t say much. I was the new guy and he was just about the furthest thing from a new guy I could imagine.

He wasn’t all that big, but he was tougher than a $2 steak and didn’t come with any dessert. He was a Spec 4 that made everybody blink. The duty officer, the executive officer and all the gun sergeants.

Even the ones who had been around since the big war.

Ken had given me orders and told me what to do for about three weeks, but he talked at me, not to me. I could see why. We were about as different as two draftees could be.

He was Texas tough, maybe 21 years old, and knew everything about fixing and repairing stuff. Plus, he ran one of the Fire Direction sections in our battery of four huge artillery pieces. Chief data computer for calculating the instructions to fire 200 pound shells through the jungle skies.

I was a pampered college kid. Couldn’t screw in a light bulb without calling the help line. And, I still had the tags in my new jungle boots.

He was bright, told good stories and had a world class smile.

But I hadn’t seen that smile pointed my way yet.

About a hundred of us in a little fire base. It was a quiet afternoon in April. We all worked eight hours on, eight off, eight on, blah, blah, blah. I was off duty, getting some sleep in the underground bunker and keeping one eye open for rats. I’d been in country for a month and only been shot at once.

Splat. “What’s that?” Splat. Splat. That would be the last time I’d ever ask anybody what that sound was. My first mortar attack.

What should I do? Is this the end? Where should I go?

I talked two other guys into believing we should head for the fire command bunker. We grabbed flak jackets, steel pots and rifles and ran through the mortar shower the 70 meters to Fire Direction Control. Along the way, I tripped and slid a few feet on my forearms and face. So, when I dove into the bunker, I was bleeding from about a dozen superficial (make that very superficial) wounds.

Ken was the first to notice. “You hit? You hurt?”

Nope. Just fell down in the gravel.

“Oh, you just fell down in the gravel, huh? And what were you doing running through the gravel?”

I ... errr ... I ... uhhh ... thought we should come over here.

“Well, let me tell you something, Private. That would make you the dumbest jackass in the battery. Nope. The

Then, most left Sunday. The rest left early Monday. But, I couldn’t get back to Chicago until Tuesday and planned to spend the day in the hotel. Ken said that wouldn’t work.

He was picking me up and putting me on his payroll for a day.

We had breakfast, hauled a trailer load of stuff to his shop and checked out a couple things at the local print shop. He took me to the newspaper to grab copies of the story they had done about our group. We toured the three local colleges, and then broke for lunch.

After chowing down a couple of huge cheeseburgers, the waitress asked us if we’d saved room for dessert.

“Ooooh, I’m afraid we have. Better give us a couple dishes of your ice cream.”

Ken is the guy who has kept Abilene running for 45 years.

When the Air Force base needs something fixed or built, they don’t have time to write the Pentagon. They call Ken. The newspaper can’t wait for a technician from Germany to repair the Heidelberg press, so they text Ken. The colleges, the print shops, probably the city of Abilene.

They all rely on him and have for a long time. He says he can fix anything but a broken heart.

And through it all, he’s made an interesting life. He and Faye built a beautiful home on a mountaintop. They built it themselves.

And they have enjoyed lengthy trips to the South Pacific to scuba dive and explore the world. I would suspect he didn’t forget to laugh along the way.

After lunch, we went to his house to put away the tables and chairs from the reunion, haul a couple of antique motorbikes back to town, and meet a few more of his friends.

It was 103 degrees, but we kept going. Ken knows billionaires (billion with a “b”), both colonels at the Air Base, guys on the time clock, and a great percentage of cooks and waitresses in that town. He respects everyone, and I can promise that he is respected.

The next morning, he took me to the airport. Earlier, he had told me not to arrive too early. Twenty minutes would get me thru check-in and security. He pulled up to the departure door, jumped out, grabbed my luggage, and shook my hand. Then he did something I wasn’t expecting.

He said, “Jon, when y’all get back to Chicago, send me a text. I want to know you’re home safe.”

Then Ken gave me a hug. I might have been the dumbest jackass in the Army, but Ken was still my friend. I’ll take that.

I don’t want to go through a day without my family. I love them dearly. I have childhood friends who see me once a year, but still call me by my nickname.

College fraternity brothers with whom I’ve kept close since Kennedy was shot. Golf buddies who remember the hickory shaft and the gutta percha, old work colleagues who can talk about hot lead and pica poles, and friends around town who pre-date dirt.

But, if you have military friends, you know how special they are. And, if you shared combat, you know the bond I’m talking about.

I told them all how much they mean to me, how I think about one or more of them everyday. And I told them that my proudest accomplishment in life has been to be accepted by them as one of their own.

Terry has said it’s like a secret we all share. I’m glad I’m in on that secret.

Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Daily Herald / morrisdailyherald.com

By JON RINGER Special to the Morris Herald-News

dumbest jackass in the Army. Nobody with a brain would go outside and run through a mortar attack. And, now that you’re here, we don’t need you.

So ... when it stops raining 82-millimeter mortars, go back to the sleeping bunker. Rest up. You might be busy tonight.”

Strangely enough, everything changed after that. We became comrades and friends. They called him “Kunya” because he liked to talk about a little Mexican town he visited often when he lived in Texas, Cuidad Acuna.

He was from Abilene and couldn’t wait to get back. Figured he knew enough about building, fixing and inventing stuff that he’d find plenty of work.

And other guys told me stuff about him too. The story was that an officer once told him to forget about protocol and take a swing if he was so tough. He was. Decked the officer in one punch. No charges were pressed and the war went on.

Ken went home in July. Back to Abilene with that work ethic and no more military worries. In the months to follow, we all missed him. He taught me some common sense and showed me none of us were too good for the Army or too big for that war.

Forty-eight years later, I woke up on a puddle jumper from Dallas as we were landing in Abilene, a nice little airport with about four flights a day and a lot less rules than O’Hare. Hot and windy, but it was the place I most wanted to be on earth that day.

Ken and his wife, Faye, were hosting a reunion for 14 of us plus a few wives and girlfriends.

It’s like a family reunion ... except I like everyone. I worked a lot with Chuck. He’s a Damon Runyon character. He could have played Bennie Southstreet in “Guys and Dolls”. I still quote him often and remember the night he sat with a pistol to shoot the rats so I could sleep. Fortunately, no lives were lost that evening.

One of my regrets in life is that I lost Carl for 40 years.

He’s a guy who could have been (should have been) a lifetime friend.

Glad I found him, and Patti, who was his girlfriend back home when he and I were living in the jungle.

Terry was there. He taught me how to manage a small group of people. I did that pretty well later in life, and I owe it to him. He was a newspaperman, authored a couple of books and loves his Big Ten football and golf. If his hair was a different color, we might be the same guy.

Mike could have been the straightest shooter I ever met.

He had no agenda but to do his job, worked constantly and always remained calm. Plus, he did the bravest thing I ever saw, without even blinking.

Dennie had arrived in battery just as we went under siege for 43 days. His first six weeks were 300 mortar attacks, 20-hour days, 33 casualties, and very little food. He fit in from day one and did his job.

And Mel is a story. I worked within 50 feet of him every day in 1968 but didn’t know him until a few years ago. He was on a gun crew and I was figuring the firing data. It is accurate to say Mel was a good soldier, a fine comrade and a trusted friend to many.

I wish Tom and Tony could have been there. They are a huge part of the story. But they had conflicts and personal challenges. There were more good soldiers and wives I’ve come to know. They served the battery just before or just after me.

Ken and Faye were sensational. It was a fabulous reunion.

Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 10, 2016

| Veterans Day Special Section

26

John R. Sanders

Kevin Sanders

Dario E. Sarti

Erica Sarti

Hannibal J. “Nibs” Sarti

Jared Sarti

James E. Satorius

Dean L. Savage

Dennis Scaman

Chicago, IL Navy H 1942-1945

Morris, IL Army H 1981-present

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died Jan. 9, 1994

Tucson, AZ Army H 2007-2011

Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died Jan. 31, 1991

Morris, IL Army H 2013-present

Minooka, IL Marines H 1966-1972

Gardner, IL Army H 1942-1943 Died Sept. 3, 1985

Morris, IL Army H 1972-1981

Ken Scaman

William Scerine

John F. Schimandle

John J. Schimandle

Wayne Schlappi

Douglas Schmidt

Bradley Schmitt

Don Schmitz

Joe Schmitz

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953 Died Feb. 5, 2016

Coal City, IL Marines H 1957-1960

Coal City, IL Army H WWII Died March 7, 1964

Coal City, IL Army H 1968-1974 Died Jan. 8, 2007

Morris, IL Army H 1952-1954

Maquoketa, IA Navy H 1977-1983

Morris, IL Air Force H 1991-present

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953

Streator, IL Navy H 1960-1964

Jeremy Schou

Chris Schreiner

Robert E. Schwiesow

Robert G. Schwiesow

Richard N. Scorby

Paul F. Scott

Dale Scubic

Aaron Seabert

Kenneth W. Seidler

Dwight, IL Nat’l Guard H 2004-2011

Dwight, IL Marines H 2006-2011

Morris, IL Army H 2008-2011

Morris, IL Army H 1967-1969

Coal City, IL Navy H 1952-1956 Died Sept. 24, 2002

Morris, IL Navy H 1983-1987

Coal City, IL Army H 1966-1968

Terre Haute, IN Army H 2001-present

Chicago, IL Army Air Force H 1944-46 Died April 16, 2006

Kyle Senard

Terry Sengewald

Frank L. Sereno

Kenneth E. Sereno

Michael Sereno

Robert H. Sereno

Ryan Shannon

Thomas Sheahan

Jeffrey S. Sheedy

Dwight, IL Army H active

Morris, IL Marines H 1967-1971

Mazon, IL Army Air Corp H 1943-1945

Morris, IL Army H 1944-1946

Mazon, IL Navy H 2002-present

Morris, IL Marines H 1943-1946 Died Dec. 31, 1989

Morris, IL Navy H 2008-present

Morris, IL Army H 1954-1956 Died Dec. 10, 2006

Morris, IL Navy H 1965-1969 Died Nov. 15, 1975

Willard Sheedy, Jr.

Timothy Shenberg

Chuck Shepherd

Colin Michael Sheridan

Michael Thomas Sheridan

Alfred Shewmake

Bernard “Art” Shewmake

Donald Shewmake

Jim Shewmake

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died Feb. 17, 2007

Morris, IL Army H 2006-2010

Minooka, IL Army H 1967-1973

Coal City, IL Navy H 2007-present

Carbon Hill, IL Army Air Corp. H 1943-46 Died Oct. 8, 1994

Morris, IL Army H 1941-1944 Died 1953

Pasadena, CA Navy H 1941-1944 Died 1988

Chicago, IL Army H 1941-1944 Died 1995

Joliet, IL Army H 1942-1944 Died 1996

27

Walter Shewmake

Jerry Shirtino, Jr.

Mark Allen Simons

M. J. (Peg) Sjostrom

Bennie Sklut

Alan Skwarczynski

Sheila Skwira

Frank Smith, Jr.

Chicago, IL Air Force H 1942-1944 Died 1981

Salt Lake City, UT Army H 1942-1944 Died Jan. 29, 2003

Coal City, IL Marines H 2010-present

Morris, IL Navy H 1987-1995 Died Sept. 5, 2013

Morris, IL Army H 1950-1953

Morris, IL Air Force H 1942-1945 Died April 6, 2001

Minooka, IL Army H 1969-1970

Las Cruces, NM WAC H 1966-1969

Morris, IL Navy H 1944-1946

Henry A. Smith

Jeffrey Smith

Jim Smith

John K. Smith

Mark H. Smith

William “Buzzy” Smith

Richard Sohan

Wayne Sorensen

Bruce E. Southcombe

Minooka, IL Air Force H 1943-1945 Died Dec. 16, 1993

Minooka, IL Navy H 1986-1994

Morris, IL Army H WWII Died Dec. 12, 1962

Plainfield, IL Navy H 1950-1954

Sparta, VA Air Force H 1998-present

Coal City, IL Navy Seabee H 1943-45 Died March 21, 1964

Morris, IL Army H 1963-1965

So. Wilmington, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died Aug. 22, 2014

Morris, IL Army H 1943-1946

Gina Spandet

Alan P. Spangler

Charlie Sparrow

Kyle Sparrow

Paul Sparrow

Tara Sparrow

Daniel F. Spencer

Neal “Corky” Spencer

P. Douglas Splain

Lockport, IL Army H 1953-1955 Died March 1, 2007

Morris, IL Marines H 1968-1972

Mazon, IL Army H 2001-2005

Mazon, IL Navy H 1995-2001

Florence, AL Army H 2002-2006

Morris, IL Navy H 1944-1945 Died 1986

Morris, IL Navy H 1966-1970

Morris, IL Air Force H 1974-1978 Died March 9, 1990

Philip E. Splain

Paul Sprole

Robert Stangland

Robert Thomas Stansberry Morris, IL Army H 1942-1946

William Steele

Morris, IL Marines H 1976-1984

Emery (Jack) Steen

Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1946 Died Jan. 2000

Mark W. Steen

Queen City, MO Army H 1940-1943 MIA April 11, 1943

Joel Steichen

Dwight, IL Marines H 2003-2007

Donald W. Sterritt, Jr.

Morris, IL Air Force H 1966-1970

Walter Stott

Robert Strandell

Michael Strange

Robert Strange, Sr.

Joseph Struck

Theodore Struck

Morris, IL Navy H 1964-1968 Died May 31, 1970

Morris, IL Navy H 1969-1975

Morris, IL Air Force H 1944-1945

Donald W. Sterritt, Sr.

Doug Sterritt

Matthew J. Steurer

Morris, IL Army H WWII Died July 12, 2000

Morris, IL Air Force H 1996-2006 Reserves H active

Dwight, IL Marines H active

Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died Nov. 1974

Morris, IL Army H 1974-2014

Morris, IL Marines H 1981-1985

Kewanee, IL Marines H 1957-1960

Morris, IL Army AirborneH1944-46 Died Oct. 31, 1999

Morris, IL Army H 1943-1945 Died Jan. 13, 2011

• Thursday, November 10, 2016

Dwight, IL Nat’l Guard H active

Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Daily Herald / morrisdailyherald.com

Rich Shewmake

Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 10, 2016

| Veterans Day Special Section

28

Michael Stuckey

Simon Sulaica, Jr.

Hezzie Summitt

Kristopher Surber

James A. Susan

Coal City, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died March 10, 1990

Coal City, IL Navy H 1944-1946 Died Feb. 13, 2000

Newark, IL Army Reserves H 2009

Joshua A. Terando

Donald E. Terry

Justin Terry

Toledo, OH Marines H 1962-1968 Died May 25, 2010

Sims, AK Army H 1944-1945

Morris, IL Army H 2009-present

Morris, IL Army H 1969-1972

Dwight, IL Air Force H 1990-2010

Daniel Swiggett

Jeff L. Swiggett

Barney A. Taylor

Joseph L. Taylor

Jeremy Teague

Ladd Tedford

Morris, IL Army H 1982-1985

Morris, IL Navy H 1964-1967 Died Nov. 1, 1988

Morris, IL Navy H 1996-2000

Braidwood, IL Marines H 2000-2004

Josiah Swanson

Charles “Chuck” Suydam

Morris, IL Navy H 1968-1977

Morris, IL Army H 2002-2007

Ernest W. Swanson

James Sutton

Morris, IL Air Force H 1946-1948 Died 1983

Morris, IL Army H 1998-01, 2005 KIA Nov. 10, 2005

Morris, IL Marines H 1944-1945 Died 1945

Seneca, IL Marines H 1995-1999

Gerald Thompson

Morris, IL Air Corp. H 1953-1957

Ronald L. Terry

James E. Testa

Herbert J. Thom

Absher Thomas

George Thomas

Seth Thomas

William Thomas

Alden C. Thompson

Glenn Thompson

Morris, IL Marines H1953-1957 Deceased

Seneca, IL Marines H 1966-1968

Coal City, IL Air Force H 1954-1957 Died June 26, 2010

Coal City, IL Navy H 1944-1963 Died 1980

Strawn, IL Army H 1942-WWII Died Sept. 20, 2009

Morris, IL Navy H 1946-1948

Lockport, IL Army H 2013-present

Seneca, IL Army H 1969-Viet Nam

Morris, IL Army H 1944-1946 Died May 27, 2015

Jerome Thompson

Lavern Thompson

Melvin Thompson

Milton Thompson

Thomas A. Thompson

Wayne Thompson

John R. Thorsen Morris, IL H Army H

Alvin G. Thorson

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died March 26, 1969

Morris, IL Navy H 1970-1976

H. Dale Thorson

Jeffrey Thorson

Ken Thorson

Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1945 Deceased

Morris, IL MarinesH1943-45, 50-52 Died March 29, 1997

Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1946

Morris, IL Air Force H 1943-1946

Morris, IL Army H 1967-1969

Morris, IL Navy H 1945-1946 Deceased

Cyril T. Thorson

Dennis Thorson

Duanne Thorson

Edward Thorson

Emmett L. Thorson

Glenn Thorson

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1946 Died June 4, 1999

Morris, IL Air Force H 1969-1972 Died Sept. 10, 2013

Seneca, IL Army H 1983-1998

Morris, IL Army H 1965-1967

Mazon, IL Army Air CorpH1942-1945 Died April 8, 1990

Morris, IL Army H 1943-1946

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1952 Died April 3, 2000

Morris, IL Navy H 1992-2013 Died Oct. 11, 2013

Byron A. Thorson

Morris, IL Army Reserves H 1960-1966

29

David Tinsley

Joey Todd

David M. Togliatti

Morris, IL H Army H Died 1947

Robert Thorson

Dwight, IL Army H 1965-1967

“Georgie Glenn” Threewitt

Michael J. Togliatti

Alvin J. Torkelson

Brian Trainor

Benton, IL Navy H 1954-1962 Died Sept. 25, 2008

Yorkville, IL Army H 1971-1977

Dwight, IL Navy H 2004-2008

Coal City, IL Army H 1965-1967

Coal City, IL Marines H 1942-1946 Died Nov. 30, 1973

Channahon, IL Army H 1942-1946 Died Feb. 6, 2006

Dwight, IL Marines H 2002-2008

Chris Travis

Donald Treadway

Wayne Trenter

Elwyn A. Trotter

Parry Tuggle

Charles Turner

Marvin Tyler

Edward Unger

Tony Unger

Dwight, IL Army H active

Mazon, IL Army H 1955-1958 Died March 22, 1998

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1954 Died June 24, 1993

Coal City/Morris, IL Army H 1941-1946

Morris, IL Air Force H 1961-1962

Butler, IL Army H 1944-1946 Died June 8, 1998

Coal City, IL Navy H 1942-1945 Died Sept. 10, 2003

Coal City, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died June 29, 2002

Coal City, IL Coast Guard H 1942-46 Died May 3, 2006

Tim Urbanik

Gordon K. Vaksdal

Donald C. Valiente

William B. Vallow

Clay C. Van Tassel

Ralph Vanden

Conrad Vandervort

Gene Vandervort

Willard E. Vaughn

Morris, IL Army H 1946-1948

Coal City, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died Feb. 7, 2005

Kinmundy/Morris, IL Army H 1952-1954 Died July 17, 2014

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1946 Died Oct. 11, 1986

Morris, IL Marines H 1943-1946 Died Jan. 18, 1990

Oswego, IL Marines H 1962-1966 Died May 12, 2001

Carbon Hill, IL Marines H 1957-1960

Rushville, IL Air Force H WWII, Korean War Died March 20, 2000

Barton W. Vest

Robert J. Viano

James Vick

Edwin P. Viglia, Sr.

Sigurd S. Viland

James Vilt

Joseph Vilt

Kenneth W. Vilt

Kenneth J. Vlk

Gardner, IL Navy H 1961-1965

Coal City, IL Navy H 1944-1946 Died March 30, 1993

Dwight, IL Army H active

Braidwood, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died Feb. 22, 2015

Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died June 11, 2005

Coal City, IL Army H 1968-1969 Died Jan. 2, 2013

Coal City, IL Navy H 1942-1946 Died March 2, 2004

Coal City, IL Army H 1959-1962 Died March 24, 1993

Coal City, IL Army H 1963-1965 Died April 9, 2013

Thomas Vodacek

George Voelcker

Russell F. Vogen

John Vota

D. Duane Waisath

George C. Walczak

Daniel M. Walker

James Walsh

James E. Walsh

Mazon, IL Army H 1943-1945 Died June 8, 1991

Morris, IL Army Air ForceH1941-1945 Died June 12, 2006

Newark, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died Nov. 5, 2006

Coal City, IL Army Air Force H 1942-46 Died March 19, 2008

East St. Louis, IL Navy Aviation H 1950-1954

Chicago, IL 82nd Airborne H 1943-1946

Morris, IL Air Force H 2000-2005 Died Nov. 27, 2005

Mazon, IL Marines H 2004-2008

Coal City, IL Navy H 1945-1946 Died June 5, 2008

• Thursday, November 10, 2016

Joliet IL Army H 1963-1966

Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com

Otto Thorson

Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 10, 2016

| Veterans Day Special Section

30

Thomas E. “Ed” Walsh Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945

William “Bill” Walsh Verona, IL Navy H 1942-1946 Died July 14, 1979

William Wando

William T. Warren

Robert W. Warrick

Edward Washburn

Eric Washburn

Paul E. Washburn

Richard A. Washburn

Dwight, IL Marines H active

Morris, IL Air Force H 1940-1964 Died June 2, 1964

Morris, IL Coast Guard H 1945-1946 Died Feb. 26, 2009

Coal City, IL Navy H 1943-1945 Died March 30, 1995

Morris, IL Navy H 1982-1986

Morris, IL Army H 1953-1955

Morris, IL Air Force H 1959-1966

Clay Webb

Conrad Weitz

Frank W. Welch

Herman F. Welch

Dave Welsh

Douglas Welsh

Theodore L. Wendell

Harry S. Watters

Ritchie, IL Army H 1941-1945

Robert Washburn

Morris, IL Army H 1943-1945 Died Jan. 2, 1999

Terry Wenger

Melvin P. Werden

Coal City, IL Marines H 1982-present

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1946 Died Sept. 20, 1980

Dwight, IL Air Force H 1942-1946 Died June 14, 2009

Morris, IL Navy H 1944-1946

Mazon, IL Army H 1966-1971

Mazon, IL Navy H 1943-1945 Died 1957

Channahon, IL Army H 1944-1945 Died Jan. 26, 1986

Charles Whitaker

Eric White

James White

Harry L. Wickman

Lawrence W. Wickman

Nicholas R. Wickman

Steven P. Wickman

Dwight, IL Air Force H active

Morris, IL Army H 1957-1959

Morris, IL Navy H 1964-1967

Gardner, IL Marines H 1993-1997 Died Aug. 28, 2004

Gardner, IL Air Force H 1969-1973

Morris, IL Navy H 1944-1947

Coal City, IL Navy H 1943-1947 Died Aug. 8, 2010

Morris, IL Navy H 2002-2013

Morris, IL Navy H 1974-1980 Died June 4, 1993

Jerry Howard Wicks

Matthew Wilkey

Robert D. Wilkinson

Leslie Willis

“Pete” Willis

Robert Willis

Rudy Willis, II

Rudolph Willis

Donald Lloyd Wills

Morris, IL Army H 1968-1969 Died Sept. 19, 1969

Dwight, IL Marines H active

Mazon, IL Army, Retired H 1946-70

Plainfield, IL Navy H 1951-1953 Died Sept. 2008

Braidwood, IL Army H 1951-1953

Godley, IL Air Force H 1951-1953

Morris, IL Army H 1979-1983 Died Oct. 16, 1994

Morris, IL Marines H 1952-1954 Died Sept. 6, 2004

Morris, IL Army H 1966-1968

Lloyd Wills

Stephen D. Wills

Ronald Wilson

Richard Winsor

Edwin D. Witt

Leonard J. Wozniak

Francis E. Wren, Jr.

Jason Wren

Ronald Wren

Morris, IL Army H 1944-1946 Died Nov. 2, 2008

Morris, IL Marines H 1988-1993

So. Wilmington, IL Army H 1944 Died 1944

Morris, IL Air Force H 1965-1989

Mazon, IL Army H 1945-1947 Died Jan. 1998

Chicago, IL Army Air Corp. H 1942-43 MIA 1943, found 1972

Coal City, IL Army H 1964-1966 Died March 4, 2014

Coal City, IL Army H 1997-2001

Coal City, IL Army H 1969-1971

Memorial squad on duty

31

By ALLISON SELK Shaw Media Correspondent

The Morris Color Guard, Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery memorial squad, Illinois Patriot Guard and veterans surrounded shelter C as members of the Patriot Guard were chosen to accept the American flag for a veteran they had never met.

Not one person had a dry eye as taps played and veterans passed the casket for one last salute to a veteran who served our country, but died alone.

As of 2011, 107 veterans without family or loved ones have been buried with honors at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood. Seventy-seven of them were homeless. To be buried with honors, family or loved ones must make a request to the cemetery, but when a veteran dies homeless, that piece to the puzzle does not exist.

In the past, the veterans would come to the cemetery for a direct burial, which consists of being buried without honors. Then, four times per year, a memorial ceremony would be held and the names of the soldiers buried during that time would be read aloud.

In 2010 Army artillery veteran Jack Picciolo learned during the course of the Chicago Homeless Sandwich Run that

one of their 18-year clients had committed suicide and was in fact a veteran. Veterans Jim Proffitt and Paul Bezzazian had given this man food and clothing for 18 years, so Proffitt called the Cook County Coroner to request the body be released to him if family or loved ones were not found, according to Picciolo.

A month later, the body was released to the veterans.

Picciolo said The U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs provided opening and closing of the gravesite, liner, headstone marker, ceremony and burial in a national cemetery.

“The preparation of the body, transportation, clothing, casket and coordination of the funeral service was not provided by the government,” Picciolo said.

Through a friend, Picciolo found Dignity Memorial Network funeral homes, which paid for all of the costs not covered by the government. On January 18, 2011, this veteran was buried with full honors, which began the desire of Picciolo and other veterans and groups to provide these honors and act as family for these men and women who served our country, yet died alone.

“When you sign up for the service, you are given the guarantee that you will be taken care of by the government because it’s something you’ve earned. It’s not right to dump these homeless veterans in a pauper grave in Chicago-it’s

not right,” Picciolo said.

Picciolo said he now receives calls from Diane Nowak from Dignity Memorial Network funeral homes, and sometimes only has a 24-hour notice to email and call volunteers to come represent family and loved ones for the deceased homeless veteran.

“There is nothing as bad as dying alone. There is nothing as bad as being buried without loved ones, so by proxy we take those places. We take it very seriously because all of us could have been homeless, because when you come back from the service, you are lost,” Army veteran and volunteer Jim Singler said.

The funeral procession begins at the visitor’s center near the cemetery entrance. The Illinois Patriot Guard riders lead the processional down the narrow curved roads to a shelter where the casket lays under the shelter. Volunteers are pallbearers and Picciolo assigns a group of volunteers to represent family, as a Dignity funeral director leads the ceremony. The memorial honor squad performs its duties of the presentation of the flag, rifle volley and taps.

“I wouldn’t think very much of myself if I didn’t come without a valid excuse. It’s a sense of duty-the guys who participate have never lost their sense of duty,” Singler said.

Ojibwa, WI Navy H 1943-1945

Jason G. Wright

Morris, IL Marines H 2004-2009

Peotone, IL Army H 1969-1971

John Robert Zelko III

Harley D. Zhe

Morris, IL Army H 2006-2008

James Zumbahlen

Morris, IL Air Force H 1943-1947 Died Sept. 30, 2011

Archie Wynen

Fred Wurst, Jr.

Morris, IL Army H 1952-1953

Norman E. Ziegler

Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died May 9, 2003

Allan Yarmer

Mello Yarmer

Michelle L. Yarmer

Edward Zelinko, Sr.

James Zelinko, Sr.

Long Beach, CA Army H 1968-1971 Died July 7, 2014

Plainfield, IL Navy H 1977-1983

Galatia, KS Army Air Corp. H 1942-46 Died Jan. 25, 1978

Verona, IL Navy H 2001-2009

Coal City, IL Army H 1942-1945

Coal City, IL Army H 1968-1970

Ronald Ziegler

Chris Zierman

Clarence R. Zingre

Harry Zitzka

G. G. Zullo

Nicholas Zullo

Morris, IL Army H 1969-1971

Morris, IL Marines H 2001-2004

Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died March 13, 2011

Morris, IL Army H 1951-1952

Morris, IL Army H 1964-1966 Died March 27, 1996

Morris, IL Air Force H 1960-1964

• Thursday, November 10, 2016

Fred Wurst, Sr.

Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com

Area veterans work to give homeless veterans honorable burial

Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 10, 2016

| Veterans Day Special Section

32

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