Wheaton Memorial Day parade, cemetery service honors fallen troops

As he's done for more than 25 years, Sandy Lykins will wear his color guard uniform while marching through Wheaton on Memorial Day.

Spectators will greet him and other veterans with applause. Some will simply shout out "thank you."

"What really goes through my mind is the number of people I see from the town of Wheaton who are out to watch this little parade," said Lykins, the color guard commander of American Legion Post 76 in Carol Stream.

But when the parade ends at a quiet spot in an old cemetery, and he scans the dozens of crosses placed in neat rows - one for each of Wheaton's fallen sons - the Vietnam veteran can't help but think about how lucky he is not to be one of them.

"It's a memorial to those who have paid the ultimate price so that we can have a Memorial Day and a Fourth of July and a Labor Day," Lykins said.

The parade honors their lives and sacrifices, but the graveside service is a visceral reminder of the toll and our responsibility to never forget.

Representatives from the American Legion and the DuPage Memorial Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2164 set up a stage at the 19th-century cemetery off Warrenville Road, put up bunting and create a somber display of crosses. Blue flags will designate the two Medal of Honor recipients in the group: U.S. Army Pfc. James Howard Monroe and Army Staff Sgt. Robert Miller.

It's an annual ritual, but Lykins, one of the volunteer organizers, never tires of seeing the "the young kids" who pay their respects at the remembrance. Even before he served in the Navy on the nation's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, Lykins once marched with his high school band for Memorial Day ceremonies in Glen Rock, New Jersey.

"It's kind of neat to see the roles reversed after many years," Lykins said.

Organizers had to reroute this year's parade because of a major streetscape project along a stretch of Front Street downtown.

At 10 a.m. Monday, the parade will instead step off from Memorial Park, head south on Hale Street to Wesley Street; west on Wesley to Wheaton Avenue; south on Wheaton Avenue to Liberty Drive; east on Liberty to Main Street.; south on Main to Elm Street; west on Elm to Warrenville Road; and south on Warrenville to the Wheaton Cemetery.

Parade units will represent American and VFW posts, Scout groups, school marching bands, police and firefighters.

"It's strictly a tribute to those who perished during their time of service," Lykins said. "That's why we don't allow lifestyle statements, any advertising, anything like that."

Roughly 4,000 to 5,000 spectators are expected to line the parade route.

If you go

What: Wheaton Memorial Day Parade

When: 10 to 11 a.m. Monday, May 28

Where: Memorial Park to Wheaton Cemetery

Info: Americanlegionpost76.org