Honor our suburban heroes today
With this weekend the unofficial start to summer — weather notwithstanding — it’s easy to concentrate on barbecues, sports and family get-togethers. But today is also a day to remember why schools and workplaces are closed and our communities have parades and other commemorations.
Today we honor our veterans, and especially those who have given their lives in defense of our country. It may sometimes be difficult to relate to the holiday if you don’t know someone personally who has made that ultimate sacrifice. For those people, especially, consider this:
Ÿ Army Staff Sgt. Andrew R. Pokorney and Marine Cpl. Anthony G. Mihalo, both Naperville North High School graduates, were killed in the past decade fighting in Iraq (Pokorney in 2003) and Afghanistan (Mihalo in 2008). They were honored Friday at the high school with a new Memorial Garden.
Ÿ Michael Blanchfield of Wheeling was honored posthumously 30 years ago with the Medal of Honor for his actions to save the lives of his fellow soldiers during the Vietnam War. Only 19, he threw himself on a grenade to save the rest of his unit. “Who knows why he did what he did. There’s no answer to the question why. There’s no training for that selflessness to save his buddies,” said Takie Mandakas, president of the Chicago chapter of the 173rd Airborne Association, at a ceremony Friday in which Blanchfield’s family received his honorary diploma and a plaque signifying his induction as a distinguished alumni.
Ÿ James Howard Monroe also received a Medal of Honor for saving the lives of two fellow soldiers in the Vietnam War by jumping on a live grenade. On Friday, Monroe’s family presented that medal to Monroe Middle School in Wheaton, where it will remain on display. The school was named for Monroe, who graduated from Wheaton Central High School in 1968.
“You are measured and humbled when you hear about what James Howard Monroe did,” Congressman Peter Roskam of Wheaton said. “What is it about a person that does that? Ultimately, it’s love and a sense of duty and a sacrifice that he is willing, literally and with no ambiguity, to give his life to others.”
Ÿ Staff Sgt. Robert Miller of Wheaton was recently honored posthumously with the Medal of Honor after being killed in combat in 2008. He will be honored in Wheaton today.
Ÿ Lance Cpl. Kevin Oratowski was killed by a roadside bomb last August in Afghanistan. He will be honored today in Glen Ellyn.
Those are just a few suburban names to remember today. Each community in our circulation area has veterans — both living and dead — to honor today. Please join your neighbors in doing so and recognizing, no matter what war, they served to protect all of us.