Wheaton ceremony ensures veterans aren't forgotten

Roughly 55 of the country's most distinguished military veterans gathered in Wheaton on Saturday to remember those armed-forces colleagues who remain missing in action or prisoners of war.

The visiting veterans - all of whom are recipients of the Medal of Honor - spent the day on the grounds of the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park, which hosted a short and somber National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony in the afternoon.

Paul Herbert, the museum's executive director, said during the ceremony that about 85,000 U.S. soldiers remain unaccounted for since World War II, including roughly 8,000 from the Korean War and 1,000 from the Vietnam War. He added that the numbers are growing as Americans are missing or held prisoner during the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This is not just a historical issue," Herbert said.

Gurnee resident Allen Lynch, who received the Medal of Honor for his service in the Vietnam War, participated in Saturday's ceremony, helping to place a commemorative wreath by the "doughboy" statue outside the museum's visitor's center.

"It's very important that remember all the veterans who haven't come home," Lynch said. "As a nation, we owe it to their families."

In addition to paying tribute to prisoners of war and missing soldiers, the event gave suburban veterans and interested residents a chance to meet the Medal of Honor recipients and thank them for their bravery. Many people at the ceremony tried to secure autographs from them.

The Medal of Honor is the highest military award that can be bestowed for valor in combat. To date, 3,447 people have received it.

"You know, most vets don't get the appreciation they deserve, but these guys - " said Geneva resident and Vietnam vet Stanley Herzog. "These guys really should be honored."

Saturday's activities at Cantigny were the final ones scheduled for the Medal of Honor Society's annual convention, which was held this year in Chicago.

James Livingston, a retired Marine Corps Major General from South Carolina who was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1970, said his fellow recipients loved visiting the First Division Museum.

"The facilities here are wonderful and the hospitality we've received has been wonderful," he said. "It's given us a great chance to exchange stories with the people of America."