Everyday heroes: Veterans Day honors local service members, remember the fallen

Veterans Day may be an afterthought - or even no thought at all - in some homes, but it's front and center at a Glenview retirement community where, on Veterans Day, former service members will make a point of remembering the fallen and saluting the country they died defending.

"I always think of the guys I went to high school with who never came back, and the guys I knew who were in my training company in the Navy who never came back," said Bob Anthony, one of nine residents at Vi at the Glen who served during World War II.

Anthony was a radar man on an attack transport in the Pacific that supported the bloody Battle of the Philippines and invasion of Okinawa. He served an additional two-year tour at Fort Knox, Kentucky, as a training company commander, training young men (200 to a company) being sent to Korea.

As has become its custom, the Vi will observe Veterans Day with a morning flag-raising ceremony, which includes the bugle calls taps, reveille and to the color; the national anthem, "Amazing Grace" and "God Bless America." A tribute to the 25 World War II, Korean, and Vietnam-era war veterans currently living at the Vi will be located throughout the day in the foyer, featuring in-uniform photos and memorabilia the vets have offered for display. A classic mess hall dinner has become a favorite, featuring chipped beef on toast (SOS), green beans, and peach cobbler.

"Veterans Day is always special to us here," said Vi Community Relations Manager Ellen Klesta. "With pride and reverence, we are honored to pay tribute to the men and women who sacrificed to serve our country."

Bill Mooney, who served in the Air Force during the Korean War, explained why he appreciates that the Vi treats Veterans Day with a special reverence. "It's not so much for guys like me, but for the guys who were in combat and were shot at, and gave their lives for the country. This has to be recognized."

Mooney was not aware at the time that he was putting his life in serious danger on March 1, 1954, when as a member of the 6th Squadron Weather Mobile, he watched with no protective gear the detonation at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific of Castle Bravo - more than 1,000 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima nearly nine years earlier.

He was 130 miles away, and still "it was the brightest light I have ever seen in my life." Hours later, debris from the blast was falling "like tiny flakes" all around them. "We were taken off the island and observed by medical personnel. No one had any medical problems."

What can the average American do to support veterans today? That's simple, said Mooney. "Just support the Veterans Administration. The government has done an excellent job already." He comes at that opinion firsthand. "My son was in the Army in Iraq. He had some problems, and the VA took very good care of him."

In addition to voicing approval for the VA, Vi veterans voiced strong support for the proposition that the U.S. must maintain its standing as the strongest military force in the world.

"A lot of countries would give their eyeteeth to cross the ocean and come charging in," said Elliott Otis, who in the early 1960s was a civil engineer in the U.S. Air Force Security Service, which electronically monitored Russian space lifts.

Otis, who traversed eight countries from 1958-59 - some twice - shared, "We are the world's best hope for freedom."

Veterans at the Vi have made a special point of paying their respects on hallowed ground including Normandy, Gettysburg, Arlington National Cemetery, and the many monuments in Washington, D.C., dedicated to those who died in this nation's wars.

"I have visited Arlington National Cemetery many times. I have friends that are there. You get a feeling that brings back memories," said Anthony.

Otis' visit to Normandy was particularly affecting. "It was very moving," he said.

Mooney has a common reaction when he visits any one of these places. "Pride," he said. "It shows how common Americans have served their country. The heroes were not long-career military, they were the volunteers and the guys who got drafted and sent over there."