Wheaton North remembers Medal of Honor recipient

If the presence of city council and school board members at Wheaton North High School did not adequately reflect the importance of Friday morning’s Veterans Day service, students soon understood when a woman from Oviedo, Fla., took the microphone.

Maureen Miller was in town specifically for the event. As veterans from the community looked on, Maureen told students about her son, Army Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller.

Miller, the man who knew five languages and caught the ire of his superiors when he notified them of grammatical errors in one of the Army’s Latin mottos.

Miller, the man who roamed the halls of Wheaton North and served as captain of the gymnastics team until his graduation in 2002.

Miller, the man who died in a firefight but saved several of his fellow soldiers, leading President Barack Obama to posthumously award him the Medal of Honor.

Now, Miller’s name will forever be connected with the school. Officials renamed the commons area the Robert J. Miller Commons Area, unveiling two plaques and lettering along the wall on Friday.

“This is so special,” Maureen said after the 30-minute ceremony. “To have this named for him, it’s something important. He was a tough kid to raise. There was a lot of energy there. But I am very proud.”

Principal Jill Bullo said the school board’s decision to have students attend classes on what is traditionally a holiday gives them another chance to reaffirm its educational experience.

“It becomes a teachable moment,” she said. “With a grad becoming a recipient of the Medal of Honor, we learn as a school what that means.”

The ceremony was only one of many throughout DuPage County.

Aurora

Veterans in the City of Lights were honored with a parade that flowed seamlessly into a ceremony Friday morning.

Members of veterans groups, honor guards and the East Aurora High School Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps each got a moment of recognition as they assembled before the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall where the ceremony was held.

“We set aside today to give honor and thanks to our veterans,” whether they’re barely 20 years old and just returning from Iraq or Afghanistan, or in their 80s or 90s after serving in Korea or World War II, Mayor Tom Weisner said.

Veteran and Aurora native Christopher Hess, a sergeant first class in the Army National Guard, addressed a crowd of about 200, offering his definition of who and what a veteran is.

“A veteran is an ordinary person doing extraordinary things,” Hess said.

He said veterans of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds deserve the same honor for the sacrifices they made to protect the nation.

“Battling terrorism today, America owes a debt to our veterans that can never be paid, especially to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice,” Hess said.

The Roosevelt-Aurora American Legion, Aurora Waidley VFW Post 468, AMVETS Post 103 and Fox Valley Marines Detachment 1233 read the names of 23 members who died since Veterans Day last year.

Naperville

Naperville’s veterans spent the morning being recognized at area schools before gathering at Veterans Park.

The sight of dozens of veterans lined up, shoulder to shoulder, in front of the city’s veterans memorial brought chills to Scott Holley, senior vice commander, of the Judd Kendall VFW Post 3873.

“I get a special feeling when I come here. I think about how proud I am to be considered in the same group as my fellow veterans up here,” Holley said. “The things they have done and seen and the impact they have had on others is so inspiring. Their willingness to put others before themselves is unmatched.”

But Priscilla Laubscher, commander of the American Legion Post 43, said it’s the families and friends at home that keep that spirit alive.

“Today I was at Mill Street School and they gave us an outstanding welcome but I also thanked them,” she said. “Because for all of the boots on the ground, people in the air and on the water, it is with your support that we carry on. So I thank you all for your support.”

Friday’s event, attended by more than 100 friends and family members, also included a 21-gun salute, the playing of taps and music from the Naperville Municipal Band.

Winfield

The chill morning air did nothing to minimize the enthusiasm of 540 students on hand to salute veterans at Pleasant Hill Elementary School in Winfield.

With the students looking on, Gulf War veteran Brian Aldridge said he enlisted because he felt a sense of responsibility and that ever since he did, he has met some great people.

“We serve not to be heroes,” he said, “but we feel it is an honor and we are supposed to.”

During the ceremony, Aldridge and other vets walked the halls, while students serenaded them with patriotic songs.

“It’s moving because we don’t get to rub shoulders with the men and women of the armed forces and get to say ‘thank you,’” said Principal Heidi Fitch. “To bring them in and say thank you and pass that respect on to the children ... it’s something we had to pass on to them.”