Streamwood pays tribute to those who served
Sunday's Veterans Day tribute at the Streamwood Veterans Memorial was more than a celebration.
It also was a reminder that all Americans, in one way or another, feel the impact of the sacrifices made by veterans.
State Rep. Peter Roskam spoke of how the sacrifice made on the beaches at Normandy by a young man from Iowa named George Jenkins changed his own life.
After Jenkins lost his life in the invasion of Normandy, his parents, Roy and Ella Jenkins, used George's life insurance money and funded another young man's college education.
"If you haven't picked it up by now, that's my dad," Roskam said.
Sunday's ceremony also was a reminder that veterans aren't always appreciated.
World War II veteran Everett Parpart, a member of Streamwood's Veterans Memorial Commission, told the crowd gathered at the memorial, "A lot of our veterans, especially after Korea and after Vietnam, were treated rather poorly. That was a disgrace.
"We can only hope that none of our present serving men and women are ever treated like that again."
For Howard Fritz, "(Veterans Day) is a day that the public can say, 'Thank you' to everybody who has served and remember all the men and women around the world that are still serving."
Fritz, a Vietnam veteran and a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5151 in Streamwood, recalled his treatment when he returned from the war.
"I was spat on when I came back from Vietnam," Fritz said.
Now, whenever he sees someone who looks like a veteran or is wearing a uniform, "I go up to them and I tell them, 'Thank you for what you do.'"
Vietnam veteran and Schaumburg resident Chuck DeVore said, "Nowadays, (Veterans Day) means more to me than ever because of the guys fighting for freedom over in Iraq."
"I'm just happy to be alive to still celebrate it," DeVore said.
The crowd at Sunday's memorial included Boy Scouts Three Fires Council Troop 26, Cub Scout packs 15 and 49 and Girl Scout Sybaquay Council-Waubonsee Neighborhood troops 124, 602 and 1404.
Streamwood High School student Angelica Kurtz sang at the ceremony.