Our Military Heroes
NOVEMBER 9, 2017 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
2017 r s’
s
ty •
de
Gr undy Co
un
SM-CL1474111
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
r te
a Re
Joseph L. Reeves U.S. Navy 2009 - Present
Christopher J. Baskerville US Air Force 2013 - Present
ard
James W. Reeves U.S. Navy 2003 - Present
your sacrifices and honor our freedom.
• Gr ea
Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 9, 2017
| Veterans Day Special Section
2
w Choice A
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 the price of personal country on our behalf by making this Christmas special for 12 area families.
Wishes will be granted each day December 12-23 2017. Simply tell us what your Christmas wish is for your family this year. 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 • Entries should be filled out by the service person, his/her spouse, or significant other and submitted by 5PM on Nov.13th, 2017. www.morrisherald-news.com/stnick Forms may be submitted to: the Morris Herald-News c/o Opperation St. Nick 909 Liberty Street Morris, IL 60450 Â
12 Days of Christmas Giving Participation Form Name Address
Phone
Military Branch
Dates Served
Your Christmas Wish
3
Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com
To give back to those who are serving, or have served, Operation St. Nick is granting any wish up to $2,500 for 12 Grundy County military families with children.
• Thursday, November 9, 2017
n Number of Children
Ages
Can the Morris Herald-News contact you to be part of the story?
12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS GIVING Dreams come true for local military families
SM-CL1474987
Yes
No
Sponsored by: MORRIS
HERALD NEWS
Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 9, 2017
| Veterans Day Special Section
4
Three generations of Johnson family chose to serve at different times for different reasons By ALLISON SELK – Shaw Media Correspondent The first Johnson ancestor of the Wendell Johnson family came to America from Sweden and joined the United States Army. Now, generations later, the Johnson family still has strong ties to the United States military. In 1967, Wendell Johnson was drafted into the Army and left his wife and infant daughter to fight in Vietnam. He was overseas for seven months until he was wounded in service and sent home. When he arrived home, his employer told him that he was a hazard to the job. This veteran had to switch careers, focus on his wife and baby and readjust to civilian life. Wendell’s son, Doug Johnson, joined the Navy out of high school with the goal of a fouryear term. “I needed structure in my life. I joined to do four years. Four turned into eight, eight turned into 12 and so on,” Doug Johnson said. Twenty-two years after he first enlisted, Doug Johnson retired from the United States Navy and now works at a prison. Wendell’s grandson, Brent Johnson Jr., or Bubba as they all call him, enlisted in the Army at the age of 17 with his parents’ permission and left for training two weeks after high school graduation on June 10, 2013. He deployed to Afghanistan during 2015 and 2016 and spent his 21st birthday drinking non-alcoholic beer overseas with his fellow soldiers. He now attends Joliet Junior College, wrestles for the college and is currently active in the National Guard. All three men of the same family chose to enter the military for different reasons, in different periods of history, but all have pride in their service. Wendell did not have a choice, he was drafted and taken from good job and had already begun his family, but he made it clear that he harbors zero regrets of his time served. “I am proud of doing what I did. Even though I was not a career soldier, I am proud of my time there. When we lost squad leaders I was promoted to squad leader because I was the oldest at 23. They called me pappy. I said I couldn’t do this, and was told, I had to take care of the kids.” Doug decided that college was not the correct path for him, and craved structure and order and found that it was easier to stay in the military than find a reason to get out. “I stayed in so long because of the camara-
derie, brotherhood, sisterhood and the commonality of doing something for so long. I was scared to change jobs and there was no reason to do so,” Doug said. “I saw everybody going off to college and thought that somebody had to go out and do this job,” Brent Jr. said. “It was nice to see my little sisters protected, I would rather do this job than my little sisters having to do it.” Even though what took them into the military differed, the bond they have because of their service to the country remains the stronghold. Doug said although they do not talk about everything that has happened in each military career, he knows that veterans can suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) so the bond of military service allows them to understand how to talk to one another and not create a trigger. “Each veteran carries something inside,” Doug said. Each of the men experienced varied hardships and have comfort knowing the brotherhood they share as veterans can be found also at home. “We lost a lot of members and that was the hardest part. I think about their home life and how they will never be a father or grandfather and have that life line extended. Plus, their family has to live with the pain,” Wendell said. Brent Jr. said his hardest part was to go into third world countries and see the way the people live, conditions he never knew existed and how when he gave a boy a candy bar it made him weep. He then comes home to “first world problems” and has a hard time wrapping his head around what people deem as a major problem. He said he also gets upset when he witnesses disrespect to our country and flag. “It sucks when I came home to see that, that’s not what I fought for,” Brent Jr. said. Wendell said he was proud of the lineage of veterans in his family, but that he never pushed the military on any of his children or grandchildren. “Both adults knew what they wanted to do, and I’m also proud what I did for our country. Somebody protected me when I was growing up and took freedoms for granted. I realize now how the World War II veterans fought for me and now I appreciate it more,” Wendell said. “And now I appreciate what Doug and my grandson did for our country. I’m glad they could carry on the tradition.”
Doug Johnson (left) served in the United States Navy for 22 years before his retirement. His father, Wendell Johnson was drafted into the Army in 1967 and fought in Vietnam for seven months until he was injured in the line of duty. (Jacquelyne Johnson)
Army Vietnam veteran Wendell Johnson (right) welcomes home his grandson Brent Johnson Jr. or Bubba from his deployment to Afghanistan with the Army in 2016. (Jacquelyne Johnson)
5
Max M. Babcock
Verne E. Babcock
Elwyn Baker
Aloysius Ballun
Arthur Ronald Barker Poplar Bluff, MO Army H 1965-1968
Morris, IL Army H 1966-1968 Died Aug. 29, 2011
Seneca, IL Navy H 1942-1945 Died 1994
H. Michael Bates
Jeff Beck
Todd Beck
Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953 Died Jan. 12, 2010
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
Elwood, IL Army H 1943-1946 Died Aug. 25, 1991
Stockton, IL Army H 1958-1960
Brian Barla
Jerry Barla
Louis Barla
Rob Barla
Edward D. Basham
Matthew D. Basham
Seneca, IL Navy H 1985-1989
Richard Becker
Minooka, IL Army H 1963-1966 Died July 5, 2016
Seneca, IL Navy H 1956-1959
Dalton R. Bednarik
Morris, IL Navy H 1942-1944 Died July 28, 1964
Robert Barkley
Andy Barla
Marshall L. Bardell
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
Edward R. Bednarik
Gerald Bednarik
Donald Bekker
Gregory L. Bell
Harold Bell
Kenneth Bell
Robert Bell
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
Charles L. Benbrooks
Earl Benge
George S. Benger
Butch Benson
Clarence Benson
Earl Benson
Ronald K. Belt
Ronald L. Bell
Gerald Belt
Morris, IL Marines H 1952-1953
Morris, IL Army H 1957-1959
Ed Benson
George Keith Benson II
Newark, IL Army H 1917-1919 Died Nov. 16, 1971
Coal City, IL Army H 1966-1968 Died Oct. 28, 2008
Morris, IL Navy H 1944-1946 Died March 21, 1970
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
Sven Benson
John Berg
Orland Berg
John Bertot
Dennis Best
George Bexson
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
• Thursday, November 9, 2017
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 9, 2017
| Veterans Day Special Section
6
Edward Beyer
Joseph A. Bien
Jospeh P. Bien
Alvin Biros
Michael Biros
August Black
Brian Black
Robert “Bob” Blaine
John A. Blake
Joliet, IL Army H 1955-1958
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
Morris, IL Army Air Corp. H 1946-47 Died Feb. 5, 2002
Warren Blake
William “Bud” Blake Morris, IL Army H 1944-1946 Died Oct. 21, 2006
William L. Blake
Morris, IL Calvary Vet Corp.H1918-1919 Died May 26, 1973
Stephen V. Bliefield
Verona, IL Air Force H 2008-present
Micheal W. Bogart
Joliet, IL Marines H 1973-1977
Bruce A. Boling
Mazon, IL Air Force H 1991-present
Leon Bonneur
Morris, IL Army H 1956-1966 Died Oct. 10, 2015
Robert Borgstrom
Morris, IL Navy H 1959-1964
Bob Born
Coal City, IL Marines H 1973-1977
Brad Born
Don Born
Ervin Born
John Born
Ray Born
William Boswell
Bernard Bounds
Richard Bradley
Richard L. Bradley
Morris, IL Army H 1945-1946 Died June 30, 2011
Coal City, IL Air Force H 1971-1975
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
John E. Brady
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
Robert E. Brooks I
William L. Brooks
John Broucek
Morris, IL Marines H 1943-1946
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 R. Brewer
Andrew W. Brian
Donald E. Bright
Lonnie Briley
Walter D. Britz
Joe Brochman
Coal City, IL Army National Guard H 2006-present
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
7
Robert D. Brown
Robert E. Brown
Emil Buberle
Charles L. Bumgardner
Kenneth E. Bunker
Francis A. Bunton
John Patrick Bunton
Jeff Alan Burchfield
Morris, IL Army H 1942-1964 Died June 6, 2007
Zephyr Hills, FL Army H 1951-1953
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
Jeff Alan Burchfield
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
Catherine A. Canik
Edward L. Canik
Paul Canik
Charles L. Carey
Morris, IL Army H 2001-present
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
Jack Cacello
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
Albert “Swede” Carlson
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
Ron Cingrani
John Clampitt
Evan E. Clark
Candace M. Clay
Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1945 Died May 6, 2001
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
Louis Bernard Cheshareck
William Cheshareck
Willie Cheshareck
Richard “Riz” Chouinard
Milford Christianson
Morris, IL Army Air ForceH1946-49 Died April 15, 1955
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
• Thursday, November 9, 2017
South Wilmington, IL Army H 1970-1971
Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com
George Brown
Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 9, 2017
| Veterans Day Special Section
8
AUTOMOTIVE
The Entire Staff at Greenway Motors Would Like To Say
Thank You
To Our United States Veterans We
Honor Those Who Serve
300 Bedford Rd. (Rt. 6) • Morris, IL 60450
855-827-4778
9
Matthew R. Clay
Chester Claypool
Jared Claypool
John LeRoy Claypool
Lester Claypool
Rodney A. Clements
Jack Cobb
Robert E. Cohenour
Minooka, IL Navy H 2005-2010
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
Edward “Ted” Conley
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
Daniel P. Cox
Dean W. Cox
Robert Craig
Don Crater
Walter Cripe
George Cromwell
William Cromwell
Andy Cronin
Curtis Cronin
Rockdale, IL Army H 1985-1988
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
Joshua Crosby
James K. Cryder
Harold H. Cunning
Bill G. Daniels
Curtis Danielson
Jerome Danielson
Robert Darin
Eugene W. Datti
Bernard C. Davidson
Seneca, IL Army H 2004-present
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
John R. “Jack” Davidson
Maurice R. “Buck” Davidson
Mark Davis
Matthew Davis
Robert Davis
Wesley J. Davis
Ryan P. Davisson
Joseph L. Davito
Lee J. Davito
Morris, IL Navy H 1946-1948 Died Sept. 15, 1991
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
• Thursday, November 9, 2017
Branson, MO Navy H 1980-1983
Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com
Christine M. Clay
Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 9, 2017
| Veterans Day Special Section
10 Glenn “Dutch” DeLong Elvin Davy
Harry Davy
Neil E. Davy
Juan R. De Leon
Glenn G. Dearth
Wilbert J. Dearth
Robert Lee Decker
Gary DeLong
Coal City, IL Army H 1945-1946 Died Nov. 22, 2001
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
Robert DeLong
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
Peter Dinelli
Dwight, IL Army H WWII Died 1994
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
Terry Dingbaum
Tim Dippon
Raymond Dirker
Kyle Dite
Louis C. Dite
Owen P. Dite
Raymond Dite
Richard A. Dite
James W. Dolan, Jr.
Dubuque, IA Army H 1988-1991
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
James Wayne Dolan
Pete Dolan
Terrence Donahue
John F. Doran
Andrew J. Downs
Jacob Downs
Michael A. Downs
Bob Drake
Dan Dransfeldt
Morris, IL Army H 1991-1996 Died Jan. 20, 1996
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
Morris, IL Army H 1969-1971
Robert B. Duket
Carl Eugene Dummitt
Mike Dummitt
Peter Dummitt
David Dunlap
Bob Durkee
Donald “Tink” Durkee
Erwin “Nick” Durkee
George Durkee
Rockford, IL Navy H 1942-1945 Died Feb. 13, 2005
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 Navy H 1944-1946 Died 1972
11
Vincent J. Eddy
David Edge
Everett Egeland
Roy Egeland
Tyler Eichelberger
Jerry Einhaus, Sr.
Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953 Died 1975
John Durkee
Morris, IL Army H 1953-1955 Died 1957
Henry (Hank) Dyer 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
Tom Einhaus
Kenneth D. Elberson
Louie Eliakis
Steve A. Eliakis
Derek W. Ellis
Dwayne L. Ellis
Derek Elsey
John R. Ely
Harion Enervold
Morris, IL Marines H 1960-1963
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
Harris Enervold
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
John Enrietta
Coal City, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died March 8, 1997
Dale B. Eslinger
Minooka, IL Army H 1968-1972
Ersel Fannin
J. Marvin Fannin
Lloyd V. Fannin
Lloyd Fannin
John “Louie” Farber
Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1946
Roger Eslinger
Thomson, IL Air Force H 1962-1966 Died March 11, 2006
John D. Farrero, Sr.
Coal City, IL Navy H 1943-1948 Died Feb. 20, 1990
Seneca, IL Marines H 1970-1974
O. B. Evans
Gadsden, TN Army H 1952-1954 Died June 9, 2010
Richard Farrero
Coal City, IL Army H 1966-1968
Morris, IL Army H 1956-1958
Wilmer “Bill” Falck Melvin, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died Oct. 16, 2005
Leo Fatlan
Gardner, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died Feb. 21, 2010
Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1946 Died June 20, 2005
Joseph O. Fancher
Morris, IL Army Air ForceH1942-1945 Died 1976
Tom Feehan
Morris, IL Navy H 1945-1946 Died 1980
Morris, IL Marines H 2007-2011
Camp Dix, KY Army H 1941-1945 Died Nov. 10, 2000
James R. Feeney, Sr.
Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died Oct. 28, 1971
Morris, IL Air Force H 1949-1954
Richard J. Ferguson
Morris, IL Navy Air H 1950-1954
Morris, IL Army H 1949-1952
Russell Ferguson
Morris, IL Marines H 1958-1961
Morris, IL Army H 1944-1945 Died 1980
William M. Ferguson
Morris, IL Marines H 1951-1953
Morris, IL Marines H 2007-2011
Dominic Ferrari
Gardner, IL Army H 1958-1960
• Thursday, November 9, 2017
Seneca, IL Navy H 1961-1981 Died July 14, 1986
Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com
Jim Durkee
The Giving Spirit Operation St. Nick helps Grundy County veterans in times of need Morris Herald-News ‘12 Days of Christmas Giving’ is one of the many programs Operation St. Nick has to serve Grundy County residents. Each year in December, Operation St. Nick grants wishes worth up to $2,500 to 12 active military personnel or military veterans who live in Grundy County who were honorably discharged. Joe Schmitz, Operation St. Nick President says, “Helping our Military personnel and Veterans by granting them a Christmas wish that they most likely would not be able to receive for their families, is a wonderful and humbling way to say ‘THANK YOU’ for your service. It’s not just Operation St. Nick saying ‘THANK YOU’ to our Military and Veterans, it’s the entire Grundy County Community that donates and wants to salute those who serve our Country.” In 2016, a wish was fulfilled for a young ser-
Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 9, 2017
viceman who was stationed in Germany, but unable to fly home because of the cost of the round trip flight. “We were able to fly him home, and take care of a couple of his wishes for gifts. I thought his mother was going to pass out when we told her his wish was granted,” said Schmitz. The board gives first priority to servicepersons and veterans who have families and are struggling. The gifts can range in variety from gift cards to home improvement assistance and more. Funds for the 12 Days of Christmas Giving come mostly from Operation St. Nick’s Norton Cup, which was held last summer. Additional funds come from the organization’s annual radio auction and donations from the public. Grundy County veterans who have been honorably discharged and those who are currently in
Thanks
active service can apply for the program themselves, or family can nominate them. 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 Entries should be filled out by the service person, significant other or family member and submitted by 5PM on Nov.13th, 2017. Complete the form online at: www.morrisherald-news.com/stnick or complete the form on page 3 and mail to: Operation St. Nick, PO Box 781, Morris, IL 60450. The following First Midwest Bank locations will also have applications available: Morris, Seneca, Minooka, Coal City, Wilmington and Gardner. Wishes will be distributed Dec. 12-23.
HHHHHHHH
Fruland
Funeral Home A truly personal service in
TO OUR COUNTRY’S VETERANS
your time of need
SM-CL1474425
201 Liberty Street Morris, IL 60450 (815) 942-0130 www.grundybank.com
HHHHHHHH
adno=0293680 SM-CL1474438
Saluting the United States Armed Forces
• Locally Owned •Traditional Funeral Services • Offering Prepaid Funerals • Cremation & Memorial Services Available
121 W. Jefferson St. • Morris, IL
942-0700 • www.frulandfuneralhome.com
We Salute Our Veterans
Thank you Veterans! We owe our way of life to your brave defense of freedom. The country and it’s people are in your debt.
INSURANCE AGENCY, LLC
Richard Hexdall and Staff wish to Thank our Veterans for their service to our Country
To all our veterans and active-duty military, we thank you for your service
Visit our new Morris & Diamond locations to learn about the PLUS SM-CL1474416
| Veterans Day Special Section
12
322 Liberty St. (corner of Liberty 7 Jefferson) Morris, IL • 942-4900 • www.rothjorstadins.com
MORRIS | DIAMOND | OTTAWA | PERU | MENDOTA www.FinancialPlus.org SM-CL1474109
13
Bill Finfrock
Daniel Finn
William Finn
Leonard R. Fioritto
Leonard Fioritto
Dale W. Fitch
Gary P. Fitzmaurice
Maurice Fleetwood
Verona, IL Navy H 1940-1945 Died June 25, 1986
Morris, IL Army H 1965-1967
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
Bob Flynn
Rocky L. Flynn
Dorsey Foster
Nathan Fox
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
Kevin J. Gaffney
Marvin J. Gagliardo
Jim Gallagher
Norval Galloway
Robert A. Gallup
Morris, IL Navy H 1948-1952
Morris, IL Marines H 1968-1969
Morris, IL Navy H 1981-1985
Dwight, IL Marines H 2006-2010
Natalie Friend
Larry J. Frosch
William E. Fruland
Raymond D. Gaddo
Morris, IL Air Force H 1981-1985
Thomson, IL Air Force H 1961-1965 Died 2011
Morris, IL Air Force H 1974-2000
Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died May 9, 2007
Poplar Grove, IL Navy H 2003-2012
Seneca, IL Navy H 1987-1991
Streator, IL Army H 1942-1945
Verona, IL Air Corp. H 1942-1946
On a day like today, it is important to remember freedom is not free.
Promoting the Welfare of Honorably Discharged Veterans The GCVAC can assist with most federal and state veterans benefits; such as:
• 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
If it werre no ot fo or th hosse who fight and d have e fough ht for edom ms and va alues we enjoy, we wou uld d nott live the free he grea ate estt countr y in the hisstory y of the world. in th
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
1320 Union St., Morris, IL 60450
SM-CL1474110
SM-CL1474395
w w w. f re d c d a m e s .cc o m
• Thursday, November 9, 2017
Grundy County Veterans Assistance Commission
Coal City, IL Army H 1952-1953 Died June 17, 2011
Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com
Russell J. Finch
Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 9, 2017
| Veterans Day Special Section
14
Gene Gang
Maurice G. Gantzert
Robert Garcia
Charles “Chuck” Garling Morris, IL Army H 1952-1954 Died March 1, 2007
Roy Gleen
Morris, IL Navy H 1952-1956
Mazon, IL Army H 1941-1963 Died Jan. 8, 1989
Morris, IL Marines H 1963-1967
Richard A. Gilmour
LeRoy Gilmoure
Lando Gingerich
Coal City, IL Army H 1957-1959
Mazon, IL Army H 1943-1946
Kalona, IA Air Force H 1950-1954
Leonard Don Goodwin
Jesse W. Gonnam
Verona, IL Air Force H 1941-1945 Died Aug. 2, 2002
Tom Granger
Ronald Goode
Crestview, FL Marines H 1953-1955 Died Nov. 8, 2006
Morris, IL Army H 1941-1953 Died Feb. 14, 2005
Reddick/Gardner, IL Army H 1940-1945 Died Nov. 10, 2006
Bob Gilbertson
Morris, IL Army H 1969-1971
Ralph Gilbertson, Sr. Mazon, IL Army H 1944-1946 Died Nov. 5, 2008
Coal City, IL Army H 1953-1955
Coal City, IL Marines H 1968-1970
Edward J. Glenney
Lyle Goff
Keith Golimowski
Michael Golimowski
James W. Gonnam
Morris, IL Navy H 1956-1960
Palmyra, IL Air Force H 1949-1953 Died May 30, 1989
Edna Roach Graham
Camp Point, IL Army Flight NurseH1941-45 Died March 1986
Ole M. Greenley, Sr.
Morris, IL Air Force H 1966-1969
Dick Gilchrist
John Gilchrist
Morris, IL Army H 2009-present
Morris, IL Army H 1968-1970
Verona, IL Army H 1972-1974
Tracy N. Graham
John Gram
Elmer T. Granger
Roger M. Gordon
Mazon, IL Army H 1968-1970
Ole M. Greenley, Jr.
Phil Gilbert
Nicholas W. Gregoire
Dale Grieff
L. Rice Graham
Griffin, GA Navy H 1941-1945 Died Feb. 2002
Morris, IL Navy H 2003-2008 Coast Guard ReservesH2009-present
Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953
So. Wilmington, IL Army H 1946 Died Feb. 23, 2009
William J. Griffiths
Eric Gronski
Eddie Grove
Robert L. Gualandi
So. Wilmington, IL National Guard H 1976-1981
Morris, IL Navy H 1969-1970 Died Oct. 11, 2013
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
Mervin “Bud” Guard
Stephen Guard
Gary Gunnerson
Chris Guthrie
Elwood Hahn
George W. Hall
William S. Halterman
Peter Hammond
Daniel Hamric
Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1946 Died Dec. 2000
Morris, IL Army H 1969-1972
Morris, IL Army H 1965-1967
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 Navy H 1967-1971 Died Oct. 2, 2017
Morris, IL Army H 1988-1992
15
Lars M. Hansen
Leonard M. Hansen
Lowell R. Hansen
Sherman Hansen
Jerry Hanson
Lloyd Hanson
Raymond Hanson
Stanley Hanson
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
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
Wally Hanson
William Hanson
Willis J. Hanson, Jr.
Willis J. Hanson, Sr.
David A. Harper
Joshua W. Harris
George E. Harrop
Henry D. Harseim
Donald Harvey
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
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
Josh Harvey
Lonnie Harvey
Merrill C. Harvey
Maynard Hawkins
George Heap
Ron Heap
Trent Heap
John Heavens
William Heermann
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
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
Nathan Hefner
Arnold Helgeson
Bennie Helland
Joseph G. Hemmersbach
Raymond E. Hemmersbach
Victor D. Hemmersbach
Adam Henderson
Jake Hendrix
Jay Hendrix
Minooka, IL Army H 1995-present
Morris, IL Coast Guard H 1942-1945
Morris, IL Army H 1953-1955
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
Herbert Hentschel
Duane L. Heren
Gil Herrera
Leslie E. Hertenstein
Myron L. Hexdall
John Hextell
Ronald G. Hibler
Daniel Hicks
Greg Higgins
Morris, IL Navy H 1964-1970
Green Valley, IL Army H 1951-1952
New Lenox, IL Army H 2001-2009
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
Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 9, 2017
Harvey A. Hansen
Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 9, 2017
| Veterans Day Special Section
16
John R. Higgins
Merlyn Higgins
Ruth Hiles
William Hiles
Earlyn K. Hill
Elton J. Hill
Lester M. Hill
Merwin F. Hill
Andrew M. Hillegass
Seneca, IL Army H 1951-1953
Seneca, IL Army H 1951-1953
Morris, IL Navy H WWII
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
Vernon Hilt, Sr.
Bill Hiney
Gary Hively
Wayne Hodgson
Ralph Holbrook
Noel Holman
Raymond Holzhauer
Stephen Homerding
Timothy Hood
Lisbon, IL Army H 1944 Died July 13, 2003
Morris, IL Army H 1965-1967
Minooka, IL Navy H 1990-present
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
Elizabeth Hortega
Ottawa, IL Navy H 2002-2007
Josiah Hortega
Ottawa, IL Marines H 1998-2006
William “Bill” Horton Yorkville, IL Army H 1956-1958 Died 1994
Gerald R. Houchin
Seneca, IL Marines H 1957-1972 Died Nov. 18, 1972
Keith O. Houchin
Seneca, IL Marines H 1952-1956 Died April 22, 2010
Harold G. Hougas
Marseilles, IL Army H 1951-1953
Irvin L. Hougas, Sr.
Morris, IL Marines H 1943-1945 Died March 1, 1945
James E. Hougas
Morris, IL Army H 1952-1956 Died Sept. 11, 2009
Troy Householder
Morris, IL Air Force H 1986-1989
Willard Howen
Nicholas Huerta
Steven M. Huettemann
Brian Humbert
Albert L. Hume
Michael T. Hume
Robert A. Hume
Dennis Huston
Robert Hutchings
Morris, IL Army H 1942-1946 Died June 4, 1993
Roy Hutchings, Jr.
Morris, IL Army H 1945-WWII Died Dec. 24, 2001
Braceville, IL Army H active
Ronald Hutton
Wilmington, IL Army H 1965-1967 Died June 19, 2012
Peru, IL Army H Desert Sheild/ Desert Storm
Gary L. Ingraham
Verona, IL Navy H 1957-1979
Dwight, IL Navy H active
Robert H. Inman
Coal City, IL Air Force H 1943-1945
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 Died Jan. 22, 2017
John Iverson
Melvin L. Jackman
Luke Jackson
Barry W. Jaicomo
Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1945 Died Aug. 14, 1993
Gardner, IL Army H 1954-1956
Seneca, IL Navy H 2011-2015 Marines H 2015-present
So. Wilmington, IL Army H 1968-1970
Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953
Walter Jaicomo
So. Wilmington, IL Army H WWII Died Dec. 4, 1982
17
So. Wilmington, IL Navy H 1943-1946 Died March 4, 2011
Ronald Jamieson
Dwight, IL Army H 1983-2010
Alfred “Red” Jenkins
Mazon, IL Army H 1965-1967
Carroll Jewett
George Jisa
Carl R. Johnson
Donald Johnson
Gary LeRoy Johnson
Gene A. Johnson
Mazon, IL Marines H 1918-1919 Died 1977
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
John O. Johnson
Dr. Larry C. Johnson
Lavern Johnson
LeRoy Palmer Johnson
Lester W. Johnson
Oliver Johnson
Jesse L. Johnson
Morris, IL H Marines H Died June 7, 1967
Harold F. Johnson
Gardner, IL Marines H 1943-1945
Scott Johnson
Harry A. Johnson
Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died May 10, 1975
Silas 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
Hank Jones
Wesley E. Jorstad
Michael H. Joyce
Harold Kaldheim
Helen Kaldheim
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
Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died Nov. 11, 2009
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
Robert R. Keech
Scott A. Keech
Ben F. Kelly
Jacob A. Kelly
Marvin Kessler
Robert M. Kimmey
Raymond C. “Dick” Kindelspire Morris, IL Army Air Corp. H 1941-45 Died Aug. 28, 2005
Eugene Klainsek
Joliet, IL Navy, ArmyH1943-1954 Died Feb. 8, 2017
Larry L. Kingman
Morris, IL Army H 1953-1955 Died March 9, 2012
Gerald R. Knudson
Nathan D. Knutson
Harry Kolb
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
Coal City, IL Navy H 1945-1946
Braceville, IL Army H 1968-1970
Jessica Klein
Earl F. Kleinfeldt
J. E. Kleinfeldt
Lee E. Kleinfeldt
Cate Klepacki
George F. Knudson
Morris, IL Navy H 1999-2007
Morris, IL Navy Air CorpH1942-45 Died Jan. 25, 2008
Morris, IL Navy H 1966-1970
Morris, IL Army H 1972-1974
Dwight, IL Air Force H active
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
• Thursday, November 9, 2017
Mazon, IL Army H 1971-1973
Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com
William J. Jaicomo
Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 9, 2017
| Veterans Day Special Section
18
Don Komnick
John Kopczick
Raymond A. Kopczick
Stanley “Ike” Kopczick Morris, IL Navy H WWII Died 1970
Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1946 Died Dec. 29, 1975
Morris, IL Navy H 2007-2009
Morris, IL Army H 1966-1969
Morris, IL Navy H 1961-1965
Joliet, IL Marines H 1956-1958
Frank B. Kuntz
Gary L. Kuntz
Gary R. Kuriger
William R. Kuriger
Ron Kyrouac
Charles Labaj
Morris, IL Army H 1968-1970
Morris, IL Army H Korean War Died 1964
Morris, IL Army Air Corp.H1940-46 Died 1995
Carl Kramer
Russell Kukman
Frank Kulig
Albert Kowalczyk
Ami Kowalczyk
Dennis E. Kowalczyk
Richard Kowalczyk
Marc Krakar
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
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
Walter R. Lacyk
James F. Lamie
Kurt Lamping
William J. Lanning
Daniel Lardi
Keith Larson
Milford “Muff ” Larson
David E. Latham
John T. Latham, Jr.
Gary L. Lawless
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
Morris, IL Army H 1958-1961
John T. Latham, Sr.
Joe Laughary
Keith Laughary
Kevin Laughary
Kurt Laughary
Ruth Laughary
Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953
Essex, IL Air Force H 1968-1971 Died Jan. 12, 1991
Walter L. Lawless
Essex, IL Army H 1939-1945 Died Sept. 4, 1965
Morris, IL Army Air CorpH1940-45
Morris, IL Marines H 1970-1972
Morris, IL Navy H 2002-present
Morris, IL Navy H 2002-present
Massillon, OH Navy H 2003-present
Gardner, IL Army H 1970-1972
Gardner, IL Navy H 1945-1953
Arthur R. Leach
Rich Leach
Harry Leasure
Frank D. Lee
George E. Lee
Kevin W. Leeds
Tim Lehman
Daniel L. Leiter
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
Morris, IL Air Force H 1984-1988
Dwight, IL Marines H 2002-2008
Coal City, IL Air Force H 1981-1985
Custer Park, IL Army H 1964-1967
Ray Layton
Richmond Hill, GA Army H 1960-1962
Dennis Lenzie
Gardner, IL Army H 1967-1968
19
Allan O. Leranger
Lindsay Leskanich
Eugene E. Lewis
Norman Lewis
Adam Lindley
Ray L. Lindley
Terry Livingston
Scott Lock
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
Morris, IL Navy H 2003-2008
Morris, IL Army H 1965-1967
Coal City, IL Army H 1966-1968
Morris, IL Navy H 1980-2000
Albert Lovati
Alan D. Love
Granville A. Love
Clifford A. Lowery
William W. Lowery
Christopher Lutz
Frank Lutz
Lavern R. Lutz
Robert Lynes
Joliet, IL Navy H 1939-1942 Died Jan. 16, 1987
Morris, IL Marines H 1965-1969
Morris, IL Navy H 1942-1945 Died Sept. 1992
Mazon, IL Army Air Corp. H 1942-1945
Mazon, IL Marines H 1968-1971
Morris, IL Navy H 1993-1999
Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1945
Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953
Morris, IL Army Air Force H 1943-45 Died July 10, 1970
Joseph A. Macaluso
Joseph M. Macaluso
Robert S. Macdonald
Donald Madison
Norman R. Madison
Samuel L. Lyons
Coal City, IL Army/Civil WarH1864-1865
Donald Lyon
Henry A. Lyons
Henry E. Lyons
Coal City, IL Air Force H 1950-1954
Coal City, IL Army/WWI H 1918-1919
Francis M. Maierhofer
Seneca, IL Air Force H 1950-1953
Bernard Mallaney
Kinsman, IL Army H 1942-1946 Died Jan. 10, 2015
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
Coal City, IL Army H 1951-1953
Morris, IL Army H 1958-1961
Morris, IL Army H 1952-1954 Died Aug. 23, 2001
Clyde F. Mason
Gerald Matteson
Kenneth Matteson
Russell Matteson
Fred Matuszewski
John F. Maunder
John Mazza
Gene L. McArdle
Jim McCleary
Morris, IL Marines H 1943-1945 Died Sept. 7, 2012
Morris, IL Army H 1953-1954
Newark/Morris, IL Air Force H 1957-1961
Lawrence P. Marchesi
Morris, IL Army H 1943-1946 Died May 27, 1967
Coal City, IL Navy H 1940-1943 Died Feb. 7, 2003
Coal City, IL Army H 1964-1966
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
Walter Marnell
William V. Martin
Robert D. Martis
David M. Maskel
Emmett Maskel
Morris, IL Army H 1956-1962
Morris, IL Army H 1943-1945
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
• Thursday, November 9, 2017
Morris, IL Army H 1959-1965
Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com
Donald Lenzie
Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 9, 2017
| Veterans Day Special Section
20
Dennis McCluckie
Earl (Mickey) McComas
Donald P. McCormack
Forrest McCormack
James R. McCormack
Kenneth McCormack
La Verne McCormack
Ken McCoy
Joseph B. McGuan
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
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
Paul E. McIntosh
Donald Dean McKinney
Jeremy N. McKinney
Jerry Jon McLuckie
John Wilton “Bill” McLuckie Coal City, IL Army H 1943-1945 Died March 21, 2000
Donald R. McMillan, Jr.
Gardner, IL Air Force H 1985-1989
Mack McMillin
Coal City, IL Army H 1945-1946 Died Sept. 2, 2013
John McNabb
Morris, IL Army H 1967-1969
Kate Meadows
Morris, IL Navy H 2000-present
Robert T. Meredith
Ed Meridith
James R. Meridith
Dominic J. Messina
Robert L. Metroz
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
Richard Meadows
Ron E. Menees
Jackie L. Meredith
Llyod W. Meredith
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
Morris, IL Navy H 1943-1946 Died March 27, 2001
Tinley Park, IL Army H 2003-2010
Morris, IL Marines H 1998-2002
John (Jack) Micetich
Philip (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
Orville (Buck) Miller
Raleigh Miller
Sean Miller
Richard Mitchell
Elton L. Monson
Jim Moran
James W. Morrall
Coal City, IL Army H 1955-1956
Coal City, IL Army H 1943-1946 Died Nov. 10, 1968
Clifton, IL Navy H 1965-1980
William E. Miller
Joseph Misener
Terry Misener
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
Coal City, IL Navy H 1956-1958
Morris, IL Marines H 1942-1945 Died Nov. 7, 1992
Diamond, IL Army Air Force H 1942-45 Died May 2000
John Morris, Jr.
Channahon, IL Navy H 1989-1993
Columbia, MO Navy H active
John Morris
Channahon, IL Army H 1965-1967 Viet Nam
21
Bill Morse
Thomas D. Mostyn
James Mulcahy
Mark Munger
Adam Murphy
J. F. Murphy
Terry Muscato
David S. Musgrave
Coal City, IL Navy H 1965-1969
Morris, IL Army H 1954-1956
Lockport, IL Merchant MarinesH1943-45 Died 1989
Streator, IL Navy H 1943-1946
Dwight, IL Marines H 1986-2011
Coal City, IL Army H 1914-1916 Died June 12, 1968
Morris, IL Navy H 1942-1945 Died Oct. 6, 1995
Streator, IL Marines H 1967-1971
Minooka, IL Navy H 1985-1994
Richard O. “Dick” Myers
John Nagra
Tim Nagra
H. Wayne Neal
Bill E. Nelson
Gerald Nelson
Ivan M. Nelson
Jack E. Nelson
Mitchell D. Nelson
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
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
Donald Neville
Green Bay, WI Air Force H 1957-1961 Died Oct. 29, 2011
Elmer E. Newell
Morris, IL Army H 1942-1946 Died July 6, 2001
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
Madison Nguyen
Dwight, IL Marines H active
Larry E. Nickels
Morris, IL Navy H 1969-1975
Danny Niewinski
Morris, IL Navy H 2012-present
Henry H. Niewinski
Henry W. Niewinski Morris, IL Army H WWII
Cliff Nighsonger
Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945
Delbert J. Noble
Wheaton, IL Army H 1951-1953 Died March 1, 1994
John Nolan
Morris, IL Marines H 1943-1946
Dale Norton
Alto Pass, IL Army H 1965-1967 Died Dec. 26, 2014
Terry C. Novotney
Streator, IL Army H 1959-1961
Chris Nugent
Wilmington, IL Army H 1980-1984
George Nugent
Morris, IL Navy H 1974-1978
Jeremiah Nugent, Sr.
Jerry Nugent
Mike Nugent
Patrick W. Nugent
Thomas Nugent
Erik Nusbaumer
Gerald O’Brien
Jack J. O’Hagen
Michael O’Hagen
Morris, IL Army H Korean War
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
Minooka, IL Army H 1963-1965
Chicago, IL Marines H 1947-1955 Died Dec. 1, 2003
Morris, IL Marines H 1990-1995
• Thursday, November 9, 2017
Morris, IL Navy H 1964-1967 Died Dec. 31, 1998
Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Daily Herald / morrisdailyherald.com
Wayne Morris
Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 9, 2017
| Veterans Day Special Section
22
Tyler Oelschlager
Robert W. Ollerman
Gene Olson
Gregory T. Olson
Larry Olson
Maury Olson
Newan S. Olson
Richard O. Olson
Robert F. Olson
Dwight, IL Navy H active
Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died July 15, 1980
Seneca, IL Air Force H 1950-1953 Died April 10, 2002
Morris, IL Navy H 1971-1975
Morris/Mazon, IL Army H 1968-1969
Gardner, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died Jan. 8, 2012
Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died 1974
Monmouth, IL Navy H 1955-1957 Died Jan. 2, 2012
Morris, IL Navy H 1942-1946
Roger L. Olson
Violet R. Olson
Joseph E. Opyd
Leo Paul Opyd, Sr.
Leon Paul Opyd, III
Leon Paul Opyd, Jr.
Luke Opyd
Dennis Orvis
Lawrence Orvis
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
Gardner, IL Navy H 2010-present
Seneca, IL Navy H 1967-1969
Seneca, IL Army H 1966-1969
Gordon Osmundson
LaVerne Osmundson
Elwyn E. Oswood
Milburn J. Oswood
Douglas Overbeck
Edward Pacchetti
Albert C. Pankey
Dennis N. Pankey
Gerald J. Pankey
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
Clifton, IL Army H WWI Died 1963
Clifton, IL Army H 1972-1974
Clifton, IL Army H 1946-1948 Died 1999
Gary Patton
Jeff Paulson
Willis Peacock
Delmar A. Peel
Delmar L. “Butch” Peel
John L. Perry
Agnes Peterson
Arthur Patterson
Seneca, IL Army H 1941-1944 Died March 28, 2003
Dick Parker
Morris, IL Army H 101st Airborne 1962-1964
Eugene G. “Pete” Peterson Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died Oct. 23, 2013
Melvin A. Peterson
Morris, IL Marines H 1943-1947
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
Morris, IL Navy H 1962-1966 Died Feb. 13, 2005
Morris, IL Navy H 1953-1956
Morris, IL Navy H 1944-1946
Tim Pfaff
Donald L. Pfeifer, Sr.
Albert Phillips
Clarence Phillips
George W. Phillips
James R. Phillips, Sr.
John (Jack) Phillips
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
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
23
Coal City, IL Navy H 1976-1979
John M. Phillips, Sr.
Minooka, IL Marines H 1941-46, 48-53 Died Sept. 20, 2001
Joseph T. Phillips, Jr.
Coal City, IL Marines H 1953-1955
Joseph T. Phillips, Sr.
Coal City, IL Navy H 1943-1945 Died Nov. 5, 1984
Robert Phillips
Morris, IL Marines H 1953-1955
Walter A. Phillips, Sr.
Morris, IL Marines H 1948-1952 Died Nov. 4, 1995
Frank Picciariello
Edward L. Pierard
Richard Pierce
Coal City, IL Army H 1960-1962 Died Nov. 11, 1991
Coal City, IL Army H 1957-1963
Morris, IL Army H 1954-1956 Died March 27, 2007
John Prebeg
Milan Prebeg
John F. Progress
Thomas F. Powell
Coal City, IL Navy H 1944-1945 Died Nov. 30, 1999
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
Joliet, IL Army H WWII Died 2013
Joliet, IL Army H WWII Deceased
Seneca, IL Army H 1951-1953 Died Nov. 16, 2002
Curtis Rasmusson
Ronald J. Rath
Francis M. Reano
Patrick Rafferty
Dwight, IL Army H active
Mark Prosser
Ivan Provance
G. Herbert Ranz
Amity Taylor Provenzano
Coal City, IL H Navy H Died March 9, 2005
Morris, IL Navy H 1997-2000
John K. Reed
R. Edward Reed
James I. Reeves
James W. Reeves
Morris, IL Army Air Force H 1941-45 Died Oct. 27, 2004
Morris, IL Navy H 1969-1971
Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953
Morris, IL Army H 1969-1971
Diamond, IL Navy Air Corp. H 1944-46 Died Aug. 25, 2011
Joseph L. Reeves
Edward J. Reiser
Leon J. Residori
Gary Rickmon
Kimberly Rieck
Morris, IL Air Force H 1989-2017
Morris, IL Navy H 1993-1997
Coal City, IL Army Air ForceH1943-45 Died April 14, 1989
Morris, IL Navy H 2003-present
Morris, IL Navy H 2009-present
Channahon, IL Army H 1967-1973 Died July 13, 2009
So. Wilmington, IL Army H 1960-1962
Morris, IL Army H 1983-1986
Dwight, IL Navy H active
Dana Riegel
Jeremy Riegel
Paul L. Riegle
Timothy P. Riegle
George James Ringer
Jon Ringer
Martin J. Riordan, Jr.
Harold Ritke
Eugene Robertson
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
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
• Thursday, November 9, 2017
Joliet, IL Army H 2004-2-12
Michael A. Ranz
Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Daily Herald / morrisdailyherald.com
John Phillips, Jr.
Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 9, 2017
| Veterans Day Special Section
24
Brian Robisky
Dennis Robisky
Korey Rodrick
Kenneth Roe
Leland M. Roe
Wilmer Roe
Robert T. Rogers
John J. Ronchetti
Keith Roseland
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
Morris, IL Seabees H 1966-1968
Coal City, IL Army Air Force H 1943-45
Coal City, IL Army H 1969-1971
Wayne Roseland
Richard Rosencrans
Randall E. Rosengren
John B. Ross
John Roth, Jr.
John Roth, Sr.
Louis Ruffatti
Luverne Runestad
Marty Runestad
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
Coal City, IL Army H 1954-1956
Morris, IL Army H 1944-1946 Died Jan. 13, 2013
Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945
Orliss L. Runestad
Shawn P. Runge
Davis A. Runion
Clinton Ryder
Robert J. Ryder
William Richard Ryder Morris, IL Navy H 1971-1974
Joseph T. Sajnaj
LaSalle/Morris, IL Coast Guard H 1948-52
Mark J. Sajnaj
Morris, IL Air Force H 1985-1989
Michael G. Sajnaj, Jr.
Morris, IL Navy H 2006-present
David Sandeno
John R. Sanders, Jr.
John R. Sanders
Kevin Sanders
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
Michael G. Sajnaj
Eric Sampson
Gordon Sampson
Orville L. “Bud” Sampson
Ronald Sampson
Morris, IL Navy Seabees H 1980-89
Morris, I L Air Force H 1983-87, 1990-2010 Retired
Morris, IL Navy H 1945-1947 Died Dec. 21, 2017
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 Army H 1967-1970
Chicago, IL Navy H 1942-1945
Morris, IL Army H 1981-present
Dario E. Sarti
Erica Sarti
Hannibal J. “Nibs” Sarti
Jared Sarti
James E. Satorius
Dean L. Savage
Dennis Scaman
Ken Scaman
William Scerine
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
Morris, IL Army H 1951-1953 Died Feb. 5, 2016
Coal City, IL Marines H 1957-1960
25
Carl’s a good guy. He was then, and he
is now
• Thursday, November 9, 2017
“Then” was the late 1960s. He was getting ready to start his life. He had begun his career as a barber and was planning his marriage to Patti. But, like a lot of young men in those days, he got his draft notice. Realizing the high prospect of going to Vietnam, Carl made an unselfish decision ... he called off the wedding. Not the romance, just the wedding. He didn’t want to leave a young widow. He and I met at remote artillery firebase near the Cambodian border. Our tours overlapped by about eight months. That wasn’t a long time, but living inside a tiny compound with 100 soldiers for every hour of every day gives you pretty good insight into a lot of personalities. We worked around the clock to calculate data for the heavy guns. Guns that could propel a 150-pound shell nearly 20 miles. Guns that could devastate everything within 200 yards of where the shell landed. Guns that could roar so loudly that you can still hear them 49 years later. Plus, Carl had a part-time job. He didn’t want to go two years without cutting hair. He might have forgotten what he learned. So, he gave free haircuts when he had the time. Picture this: We lived inside a dirt wall. We got one or two showers a week from the ice cold water pumped from our deep well. We let the sun heat water in our steel helmets in order to shave with 2-month-old blades. But, we had haircuts. Not those foolish looking, white sidewalls, G.I. butcher specials. Nope! Real haircuts. I went to Sydney for R & R. I told a young lady I was a soldier from Vietnam and she said I was a liar. “Not with that haircut, you’re not. I’ve seen plenty of Yank soldiers, and you aunt one of ‘em, mate.” As a barber, Carl knew the art of good small talk. A
This is the case here. Both are retired ... she from teaching, he from cutting hair. They spend half of the year in Florida and each has a few interests to keep active. Carl likes fishing, ballgames and maybe dropping by the casino. A few weeks ago he was at the boat. Across the room, he saw a gentleman about his age with a “Vietnam Veteran” hat. Carl took a break from the slot machine and walked toward him. He asked the guy when he was in Vietnam. The guy told him it was 1968, so Carl asked which branch of the service. Army. “Were you infantry?” Nope, artillery. “Where were you?” Tay Ninh Province. “Which artillery batallion?” 2nd of the 32nd. “Were you B Battery?” No, I was in A Battery. Never saw base camp. “A Battery, huh? You would have been at French Fort. Which gun?” Yeah, French Fort. No. 4 gun. I was the RTO. “Then you probably knew Mel Major. And, if you were the RTO, is your name Davis?” Yeah, I knew Major! And, I’m Davis! “I’m Miller... the guy who gave you haircuts and talked to you on the radio every night. And, I’ve got Mel’s phone number right here. Let’s call him. See, I told you I’d look you up when we both got back.” Forty-nine years ago, a kid from The Region sat on a stack of sandbags 11,000 miles from home and got a free haircut from another kid from Northwest Indiana. It was a very big circle that brought them back together. I wasn’t at the casino that afternoon, but I’d make a wager: There are only a few people remaining who remember that firebase and those days. And when two of them are together in the same room, each has an unspoken respect for the other. So my bet is simply that they both smiled like they did when they were 21 years old. When he got home that evening, Carl sent me a three word text: “I found Davis.” I answered: “The guy from No. 4 gun? How? Where?” Carl said, “At the casino in Gary. I lost a bunch of money, but it’s the best day I ever had at the boat.” If I could start all over and pick a few people to stick with me for my whole life, Carl would be on that list. I regret the half a lifetime that I lost track of him. But the time we had in Vietnam and the last decade where we have laughed with each other... and at each other ... has been a good definition of an “old Army buddy.” He’s a good guy.
Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Daily Herald / morrisdailyherald.com
By JON RINGER Special to the Morris Herald-News
10-minute clip and a little conversation about “where ya from back home?” and you felt like you were away from the war for awhile. Carl got to know quite a few of the guys in the battery. Once, he discovered that one of the guys on the guns was from Gary, Indiana. Carl is from “The Region” himself. Munster. So they had some memories in common. “Hey, I’ll look you up when we get home,” said Carl the friendly barber. Carl took his R&R in Hawaii and met up with Patti. They could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe there was a wedding in their future after all. Then, just before Christmas of 1968, Carl went back to the United States to finish his two-year tour. We kept in touch and probably figured that we’d be buddies forever. But real life sometimes affects your best intentions. Make that “most times affects your best intentions.” In the 1960s and early 1970s it wasn’t very popular to talk about Vietnam. Those of us who served got far too much criticism and scorn for having done so. (And, today, we possibly get far too much praise and honor for what we did so long ago... as if it were our idea to go.) Many didn’t talk much about Vietnam. Mostly because no one cared to hear it, or just because. I saw Carl and Patti in the summer of 1970. We flew to New York for a wedding of another comrade from those days. Fort Saint Barbara in Tay Ninh Province was a million miles behind us less than two years after we had left it. Then ... nothing. Carl moved. I lost his contact information. I eventually started to believe that maybe that place and those people in the jungle might not have really existed. One day I was given a book by another vet. It led me to a website that led me to an email address. I found them. Most of them. Including Carl, who was still only 50 miles away. We can’t replace the 40 years we were apart, but these last nine have been pretty special. We had a year in the jungle that would take us 15 years to tell about. We all get together every couple of years, but Carl and I see each other more often ... three or four times a year ... and exchange thoughts about sports, life and how that year changed us into who we are. Or sometimes, just a text about something one of us wants to say to someone he trusts. He’s got a great memory. A couple of times he’s even told the story about the “guy from Gary” who got the haircut and talked to us every night from the No. 4 gun. Carl said he had tried for years to find him but always hit a dead end. Carl and Patti are a love story. Their time together pre-dates the war and still endures. Long marriages are often a testament to the character of both parties.
Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 9, 2017
| Veterans Day Special Section
26
John F. Schimandle
John J. Schimandle
Wayne Schlappi
Louis Schmidberger Joliet, IL Navy H 1957-1959
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
Dwight, IL Nat’l Guard H 2004-2011
Richard N. Scorby
Paul F. Scott
Dale Scubic
Aaron Seabert
Richard Sebby
Kenneth W. Seidler
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
Chris Schreiner
Robert E. Schwiesow
Robert G. Schwiesow
Douglas Schmidt
Bradley Schmitt
Don Schmitz
Joe Schmitz
Jeremy Schou
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
Coal City, IL Navy H 2005-2011
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 Pasadena, CA Navy H 1941-1944 Died 1988
Donald Shewmake
Chicago, IL Army H 1941-1944 Died 1995
Jim Shewmake
Joliet, IL Army H 1942-1944 Died 1996
Alan Skwarczynski
Sheila Skwira
Frank Smith, Jr.
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
Rich Shewmake
Walter Shewmake
Jerry Shirtino, Jr.
Mark Allen Simons
M. J. (Peg) Sjostrom
Bennie Sklut
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
27
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 1974-2005
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
Michael Stuckey
Simon Sulaica, Jr.
Hezzie Summitt
Kristopher Surber
James A. Susan
James Sutton
Charles “Chuck” Suydam
Ernest W. Swanson
Josiah Swanson
Morris, IL Navy H 1968-1977
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
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
• Thursday, November 9, 2017
Dwight, IL Nat’l Guard H active
Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Daily Herald / morrisdailyherald.com
Henry A. Smith
Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 9, 2017
| Veterans Day Special Section
28
Daniel Swiggett
Morris, IL Army H 2002-2007
Jeff L. Swiggett
Morris, IL Army H 1982-1985
Barney A. Taylor
Morris, IL Navy H 1964-1967 Died Nov. 1, 1988
Joseph L. Taylor
Morris, IL Navy H 1996-2000
Jeremy Teague
Braidwood, IL Marines H 2000-2004
Ladd Tedford
Morris, IL Air Force H 1946-1948 Died 1983
Joshua A. Terando
Morris, IL Army H 1998-01, 2005 KIA Nov. 10, 2005
Donald E. Terry
Morris, IL Marines H 1944-1945 Died 1945
Justin Terry
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
Byron A. 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
Morris, IL Army Reserves H 1960-1966
Otto Thorson
Robert Thorson
“Georgie Glenn” Threewitt
David Tinsley
Joey Todd
David M. Togliatti
Michael J. Togliatti
Alvin J. Torkelson
Brian Trainor
Morris, IL H Army H Died 1947
Dwight, IL Army H 1965-1967
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
29
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
Richard L. Valerio
Donald C. Valiente
William B. Vallow
Clay C. Van Tassel
Ralph Vanden
Conrad Vandervort
Gene Vandervort
Joliet IL Army H 1963-1966
Morris, IL Army H 1946-1948
Mazon, IL Air Force H 1973-0983
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
Willard E. Vaughn
Barton W. Vest
Robert J. Viano
James Vick
Edwin P. Viglia, Sr.
Sigurd S. Viland
James Vilt
Joseph Vilt
Kenneth W. Vilt
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
Kenneth J. Vlk
Thomas Vodacek
George Voelcker
Russell F. Vogen
John Vota
D. Duane Waisath
George C. Walczak
Daniel M. Walker
James Walsh
Coal City, IL Army H 1963-1965 Died April 9, 2013
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 21, 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
James E. Walsh
Thomas E. “Ed” Walsh
William “Bill” Walsh
William Wando
William T. Warren
Robert W. Warrick
Edward Washburn
Eric Washburn
Paul E. Washburn
Coal City, IL Navy H 1945-1946 Died June 5, 2008
Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945
Verona, IL Navy H 1942-1946 Died July 14, 1979
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
• Thursday, November 9, 2017
Rushville, IL Air Force H WWII, Korean War Died March 20, 2000
Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com
Chris Travis
Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 9, 2017
| Veterans Day Special Section
30 Harry S. Watters
Ritchie, IL Army H 1941-1945
Richard A. Washburn
Robert Washburn
Morris, IL Air Force H 1959-1966
Morris, IL Army H 1943-1945 Died Jan. 2, 1999
Theodore L. Wendell
Terry Wenger
Clay Webb
Melvin P. Werden
Conrad Weitz
Frank W. Welch
Herman F. Welch
Dave Welsh
Douglas Welsh
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
Charles Whitaker
Eric White
James White
Harry L. Wickman
Lawrence W. Wickman
Nicholas R. Wickman
Channahon, IL Army H 1944-1945 Died Jan. 26, 1986
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
Steven P. Wickman
Jerry Howard Wicks
Matthew Wilkey
Robert D. Wilkinson
Leslie Willis
“Pete” Willis
Robert Willis
Rudy Willis, II
Rudolph Willis
Morris, IL Navy H 1974-1980 Died June 4, 1993
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
Donald Lloyd Wills
Kendall Wills
Lloyd Wills
Stephen D. Wills
Ronald Wilson
Richard Winsor
Edwin D. Witt
Leonard J. Wozniak
Francis E. Wren, Jr.
Morris, IL Army H 1966-1968
Kempton, IL Navy H 2017-present
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
Archie Wynen
Allan Yarmer
Mello Yarmer
Michelle L. Yarmer
Fred Wurst, Sr.
Ojibwa, WI Navy H 1943-1945
Jason Wren
Coal City, IL Army H 1997-2001
Ronald Wren
Coal City, IL Army H 1969-1971
Jason G. Wright
Morris, IL Marines H 2004-2009
Fred Wurst, Jr.
Peotone, IL Army H 1969-1971
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
Grundy County Veterans Assistance Commission fields calls to help
31
Edward Zelinko, Sr.
James Zelinko, Sr.
John Robert Zelko III
Coal City, IL Army H 1942-1945
Coal City, IL Army H 1968-1970
Morris, IL Army H 2006-2008
G. G. Zullo
Nicholas Zullo
James Zumbahlen
Morris, IL Army H 1964-1966 Died March 27, 1996
Morris, IL Air Force H 1960-1964
Morris, IL Air Force H 1943-1947 Died Sept. 30, 2011
and then Buck can tell them what medical records and military records to bring into the office meeting when they can being to file claims. “Every program has its own nuances, so I am here to field Grundy CountyVeterans Assistance Commission Superintenall of the questions. I am here to navigate the process due to dent Ken Buck sees 10 to 15 new veterans each month at his the complexity of the government process,” Buck said. Morris location at 1320 Union Street in Morris. Buck has been trained also as a Veteran Service Officer which means he was accredited and trained and offers a physical and medical needs. more educated approach to the process. Grundy County also offers a variety of human service or The veterans who walk through the doors of the office ganizations Buck can tap into to help the veterans who walk have been of all age, but each does have a specific need though his door. Between homeless shelters, social workusually due to age. He said the Vietnam veterans have aged ers, transition homes, organizations that combat hunger, and look into changing options with health care. chronic homelessness or chronic unemployment, veterans Also, some have experienced Agent Orange exposure in Grundy County have options even when the VA may not and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder episodes. He said the be able to fulfill a specific need. veterans from the Gulf War and Iraq and Afghanistan have “I want to tell other veterans to not be afraid to go and more service-connected disabilities. see Ken if they are in a bad situation. Ask for help because He said there has been more awareness of what services Ken will do everything humanly possible to help them. I are offered through the VA and with PTSD. Buck said, went from sleeping in my truck to living in an apartment in years ago, a veteran may file one to two disability claims a nice building,” Rollberg said. and now may file eight to 10. Rollberg said he hopes to get back to work in the near “Part of it is the war going on now with exploding ve- future. He has his own semi truck, but he needs to pay for hicles, and IEDs, there are a lot more injuries,” Buck said. repairs in order for it to run right, due to sitting unused. He “With PTSD, there has been a stigma so veterans don’t said he was anxious to get on the road and being self supwant to admit they need help. But when they do, we can portive. get them help. Sometimes they struggle financially because Ken Buck of the PTSD. We are not a doctor or psychologist, but we Grundy County Veterans Assistance Commission know when there is something underlying and can get the 1320 Union Street • Morris, IL 60450 veteran help. “ 815-941-3152 • vacgrundycounty@gmail.com Buck said there are many services such as work therapy, Office hours Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. classes, support groups the VA can offer, more than just and 1 p.m. 4 p.m.
Harley D. Zhe
Morris, IL Army H 1952-1953
Norman E. Ziegler
Morris, IL Army H 1941-1945 Died May 9, 2003
Ronald Ziegler
Morris, IL Army H 1969-1971
Chris Zierman
Morris, IL Marines H 2001-2004
Clarence R. Zingre
Morris, IL Army H 1942-1945 Died March 13, 2011
Harry Zitzka
Morris, IL Army H 1951-1952
• Thursday, November 9, 2017
Army veteran and former truck driver Tom Rollberg lived in his semi-truck at a truck stop in Morris for two years. He battled the bitter cold, at times his truck was 11 degrees and his health had failed after he suffered two strokes. “My doctor said, if I stayed in my truck one more winter, I would not be here come spring,” Rollberg said. He did not know where to turn, he self-supported himself as a driver all of his life, and due to a series of events in his private life, he found himself broke, homeless and unable to work. Until a friend suggested he see a man named Ken Buck. Buck, the Grundy County Veterans Assistance Commission (GCAVC) Superintendent fielded a call from Rollberg. Rollberg said that called changed his life and now he can sit in an apartment with heat and furniture and hope to get back to work. Buck found subsidized housing for Rollberg, sent him to Catholic Charities, which gave him a bed and the people at the apartment complex, and gave him furniture. Buck set him up and showed him how to apply for his social security benefits, and VA benefits, hooked him up with a ride to Hines VA Hospital for his appointments, especially after he suffered a heart attack after he moved into his apartment. “Ken and those guys over there at the commission are Heaven sent,” Rollberg said. Buck said the purpose of the GCAVC was to fill in the gaps of the VA and stresses he cannot accept or deny claims, but rather guide the veteran and or spouse to what they can apply for, and how to go into the process. He said the best way to serve the veteran was to make sure they call, and talk to him about their specific situation
Veterans Day Special Section | Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com
By ALLISON SELK – Shaw Media Correspondent
Morris Herald-News / morrisherald-news.com • Thursday, November 9, 2017
| Veterans Day Special Section 32