York teacher, Elmhurst veteran team up to create new memorial for the fallen
A York Community High School history teacher and a Vietnam War veteran are raising money for a new memorial honoring the 114 graduates of the Elmhurst school who died while serving in the military since World War II.
More than half of a $30,000 goal has been pledged to create a black granite memorial that would replace a plaque in the hallway outside the high school’s auditorium, said Justin Riskus, who teaches military history and honors United States history at York.
He hopes to be able to dedicate the memorial a year from now, in time for Memorial Day 2026.
“It’s been a pretty neat effort. I’m looking forward to bringing it to a successful conclusion,” said Riskus, in his 18th year at York.
Riskus has been working with Bill Shanklin, who served in Special Forces during the Vietnam War and represents American Legion T.H.B. Post 187.
Shanklin holds several other civic and municipal positions with the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club of Elmhurst, the Elmhurst Economic Development Commission, the Veterans Commission and the Elmhurst Public Library.
Riskus connected with Shanklin to share his wartime experiences with students.
Shanklin also spoke at The Roosevelt at Salt Creek in Elmhurst during a 2024 Veterans Day presentation of York students’ project, “Faces of Valor: A Portrait Journey of Our Veterans.”
Riskus has enlisted Shanklin again to help raise money for the new memorial.
“The highest calling you can have as a human being is to die for your country. When I saw he needed help I went, ‘OK, I like the program,’” Shanklin said.
The proposed memorial, created by Peter Troost Monument Company of Hillside, would feature the names of the York graduates who have died during five conflicts, inlaid or etched in gold lettering.
According to research by Riskus and his students, 90 York graduates died during World War II, five during the Korean War era, 14 in Vietnam and five since 1997, mainly in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The memorial would include an adjacent QR code leading to a website with the list of graduates who died. Clicking on a name would provide further information about the individual.
“You get a nice snapshot of their lives instead of just a name,” Riskus said.
“It’s a nice reminder for the students,” he added. “Most of these guys were the same age as they were. They played sports. They were in clubs and activities while they were at York. These guys were just like you.”
Information about the fundraising campaign is available by contacting the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce at (630) 834-6060 or Riskus at jriskus@elmhurst205.org.