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Dundee WWII vet has been marching in Memorial Day parade since 1955

If anyone knows the historical and political route the Dundee Township Memorial Day parade has taken, Bob McMahon does.

At 85, he's one of the oldest veterans of the West Dundee Veterans of Foreign Wars post, which sponsors it. He first walked in it in 1955, years after he returned home from serving in the Navy during World War II.

"That was when the parade was held on Memorial Day, which was always May 30. When it fell on a Sunday, we were told not to play our music because it started at 9 in the morning and we walked through the (West Dundee) neighborhoods," said the East Dundee resident.

"I guess it was too early; the noise bothered the people."

So, the drums and the horns didn't start until the marchers reached the Dundee Township Cemetery West, along Route 31. That was where it ended. It started at the post on First Street.

"We had to walk through the neighborhoods because (IDOT) wouldn't close Route 72 for us to use it," McMahon said.

"It was never a very big parade. The biggest parade I remember was a couple of years ago when all the politicians came out to march in it."

But times have changed and so has the route. In 1971, Congress designated Memorial Day to the last Monday in May. No longer is it a floating holiday.

Local veterans changed the route. It now starts at Immanuel Lutheran School in East Dundee and ends in Grafelman Park, along Route 72 in West Dundee.

Members of the VFW decided the turnout was best on Sunday and set their march on the day before Memorial Day. They also set the starting time at 2 p.m.

"The day before works out good because members from other VFWs can march in our parade and still hold their ceremonies on the holiday," McMahon said. "This year is like old times because our parade will be held on May 30, which is a Sunday this year."

What hasn't changed, though, is the hill leading out of the river valley veterans have had to march up for years to reach the park or graveyard. For more than 20 years, McMahon has walked uphill, sometimes holding a ceremonial rifle and doing his best not to let bystanders see him huff and puff with each step, he said.

"The older we get, the steeper that hill gets," he said. "I don't walk in the parade any more; my legs are giving out. Someone drives me through it. But years ago, I remember watching the older veterans march up it. There were some who did it year after year."

Organizers Kenneth and Roberta Andresen are extending an invitation to local groups, veterans, politicians and students who want to be a part of the parade.

If you or your group would like to march, call the Andresens at (847) 551-1981.

The Dundee Township Memorial Day parade always takes place the Sunday before Memorial Day. John Starks | Staff Photographer, 2007