Few but proud WWII veterans view model of memorial in Itasca
They sat in the first couple of rows of the chairs lined up in the Itasca Park District gymnasium, but there were not enough of them to fill all the seats.
Only 23 World War II veterans were able to come Sunday to see a model of the Washington, D.C., memorial that honors their service. Organizers of the event said the Greatest Generation veterans are dying off at a rate of 1,200 each day. The traveling model comes to the veterans who are unable to travel to the capital to see the full-sized memorial before it's too late.
Steven Schaefer is president of Pillars of Honor Inc., the Des Plaines-based nonprofit that organized the event. When he was a child, he learned from the World War II veterans around him the values that eventually fueled his Vietnam service.
“Back in those days it was fashionable to be a patriot, fly your flag and remember what Memorial Day and Veterans Day are all about,” Schaefer said. “It's not about picnics and days off. The whole country was behind the men and women who served in World War II.”
Before the flag was lifted off the top of the model, and the veterans circled the memorial in wheelchairs, canes or careful footsteps, Cmdr. Nancy J. Fink put their service in perspective.
The full-scale memorial in Washington, D.C., wasn't opened until 2004. Fink, executive officer of the Navy Recruiting District of Chicago, said part of that was because most of the World War II veterans just wanted to get back to a normal life when they returned home. They didn't want any extra recognition. But that doesn't mean a memorial for what the World War II veterans accomplished wasn't due.
Much of the focus on veterans these days relates to service in Iraq and Afghanistan, she said. In those conflicts, 6,000 Americans have been killed in action so far. It's important for Americans to remember that 418,000 Americans died in World War II, she said.
“Still, like it was in World War II, our national safety is impacted most by the heart and attitude of our servicemen and women,” Fink said. “Freedom is not assured to any of us. It requires an extraordinary level of strength and commitment from otherwise ordinary people. We have way too few World War II veterans with us today. Thank you for your service.”
Pillars of Honor Inc. brings the traveling model of the World War II memorial to various locations about twice a month. To find out where the next viewing will occur, visit the organization's website at pillarsofhonor.org.