College of Lake County marks Memorial Day

Twenty-one guns saluted. Bagpipes and bugles sang their sorrowful tunes. Strong and solemn words were spoken. And a community gathered to honor its veterans.

The second annual Memorial Day Ceremony and Service at the College of Lake County's Willow Lake Veterans Memorial Park was attended by a crowd of nearly 150 military personnel, veterans, family members and supporters Friday.

"With wondering hearts, we marvel at those who have become the hallmark of our nation's strength and standard-bearers of her honor," invoked Lt. Christopher Allen, a chaplain of the U.S. Navy. "Let us uphold the memory of those who have made the greatest sacrifice for our nation."

Keynote speaker Allen Lynch, a Medal of Honor recipient during the Vietnam War, detailed the trauma of wartime duty and expressed anger toward those who judge the armed forces from "the sidelines of life.

"We are judged by cold and timid souls," Lynch said. "Freedom is something they don't get; it comes with a heavy, terrible price. But true patriots like you make it all worthwhile."

Cpl. Nate Hiett of the Marine Corps spoke of the guilt that veterans often feel for returning home alive when many are not so fortunate. He asked the community to pray for "those who have given us so much."

R. Bret Owen proclaimed Memorial Day the nation's most important holiday. He added that it is a person's duty to support military families who have lost loved ones. Soldiers, he said, are not the only victims of war.

Joan Neal created a memorial wreath for the ceremony. The Antioch resident lost her son, Army Spc. Wesley Wells, during fighting in Afghanistan in 2004.

"It was a real honor to do this for the families and the veterans," Neal said. "This is a beautiful and absolutely stunning memorial."

Wayne Maczko, retired from the U.S. Army, organized the ceremony and is the sole bricklayer of the memorial site. He hopes that donors and local government will recognize the importance of the site. Of the 3,000 bricks at the site, 295 have been stamped with a serviceman's name and over time Maczko hopes to have names on all the bricks.

"I feel like a memorial like this is past due, especially on a college campus," said Maczko. "You can feel the good vibrations of the souls whose names we step upon."

Another $40,000 is needed to complete the memorial, which will include a bronze statue replica of the praying soldier seen at Arlington National Cemetery.

The Veteran Affairs Commission of Lake County passed a resolution on Wednesday urging the designation of the CLC Willow Lake site as Lake County's official veteran memorial. Commission Superintendent Michael Peck urged the community to support the move by contacting members of the Lake County Board.

"It wasn't the priest who gave you religious freedom, or the teacher who gave you educational freedom, or the reporter who gave you freedom of the press," he said. "It was the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States of America."

For more information about the memorial, go to www.clcillinois.edu/vets.