Model of WWII memorial captures feel of real thing

Chuck Scheckel of West Chicago and James Cesario of Elburn served on the same fleet of aircraft carriers in the Pacific during World War II under Adm. William Halsey.

But they met for the first time Sunday at the Batavia VFW Post 1197 during the Pillars of Honor ceremony, in which the scale model of the National World War II Memorial was unveiled for viewing by local veterans.

Showcasing the model that Sen. Bob Dole used in 1998 to convince Congress it was time for a memorial was the main emphasis of the ceremony to recognize “The Greatest Generation,” but it was also time for veterans to exchange stories or answer questions from inquisitive young people in attendance.

“We did a lot of different missions, and there could be a different admiral in charge for the different tasks,” Scheckel said. “We did a lot of island-hopping in the Pacific, with Guam, Saipan and Tinian, and we saw a lot of resistance and a lot of kamikaze attacks.”

Both Scheckel and Cesario said they have been to the actual memorial in Washington, D.C., but wanted to be part of the Batavia ceremony.

The VFW post was filled with veterans of all wars and their families, about 40 of whom represented the World War II veterans in the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy and Marines.

“You served our country so bravely and so proudly,” Pillars of Honor Vice President Steven Schaefer said in presenting the model. “You are the ones who set the standard for us to follow.”

Schaefer briefed the veterans on the history of the monument, which was dedicated in May 2004. It has 56 pillars, representing the 48 states and eight territories that suffered losses during the war. It also has 4,048 stars, with each star representing 100 members of the military killed in service.

Before veterans began looking at the model, the presentation took them down memory lane as John and Kathryn Atwood sang “I’ll Be Seeing You,” “This is the Army, Mr. Jones,” and “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition.”

After a rendition of “Sleep, Soldier Boy” and the playing of taps, Noreen Lake of the Pillars of Honor board of directors told the veterans to be proud of the memorial.

“It didn’t matter what you did,” Lake said. “You served your country. You left your jobs, your homes and your families.”

Earl Pederson, 87, of The Holmstad in Batavia, said he visited Washington, D.C., before the monument was built.

“I’d like to see it, but that trip is a long day and it could be tough,” said Pederson, who was an engine mechanic in the Army Air Corps, teaching pilots how to operate the B-24.

“I tried to enlist right after Pearl Harbor, but there was a lot of confusion at that time, and they didn’t take me,” Pederson said. “But three weeks later, I was drafted.”

Louie Licastro of Wheaton was at Pearl Harbor the day it was attacked, but he was fortunate to be at an airfield as a member of the Army Air Corps rather than on a ship in the bay.

“That was a bad day, one I will never forget,” Licastro said. “It didn’t take long, maybe a few weeks, for them to start shipping us out after that.”

His friend Louis Celli, an Army combat engineer also from Wheaton, said he visited the war memorial last year, calling it a day he will never forget.

“But today’s presentation and the model here really captures the feel of it for you,” Celli said.

The Pillars of Honor moves the model, on loan from the Smithsonian Institution, to various locations throughout the Midwest so veterans who are unable to travel to Washington can get an idea of the memorial. The organization, based out of Des Plaines, has plans to show it in other parts of the country if donations can support the shipment of the 12-by-12-foot model.

Small: Model means veterans in Midwest unable to travel to D.C. can see memorial