Carol Stream dedicating memorial plaza

Dedication ceremonies for Carol Stream's Veterans Memorial Plaza will be held Monday morning in advance of the village's Memorial Day Service.

The plaza dedication is slated for 10:30 a.m. at Ross Ferraro Town Center, 960 North Gary Ave. The service will follow at noon.

The plaza is the result of three years of fundraising by the Veterans Memorial Plaza Task Force and countless volunteer hours.

Fundraising efforts began on Memorial Day 2016 with the goal to raise over $200,000. Crews broke ground for the project in September 2018 and contractors and park district staff members still are putting the finishing touches on the plaza.

The plaza includes granite monuments with bronze medallions representing the five branches of the military, a curved seat wall, precast star design, commemorative bricks, military flags, new LED lighting and landscaping.

The dedication ceremony will open with a welcome by Jim Benzin, commander of VFW Post 10396, and include speeches by Mayor Frank Saverino, park district Executive Director Jim Reuter and park Commissioner Jacqueline Jeffery - all of whom have been active in the project since its inception. The dedication will continue with the raising of the flags, the national anthem, a gun salute and then a ribbon cutting.

The Memorial Day service at noon will begin with a welcome, the national anthem, a prayer, recognition of local Purple Heart recipients, a reading of the General Order and the Wreath presentation of local Gold Star families of the fallen. Navy veteran Elisabeth H. Pennix, general counsel and ethics officer for the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs, will be the guest speaker. The service also will include a musical interlude, gun salute, the playing of taps, a performance of "Amazing Grace" on bagpipes, and then final comments.

Members of the plaza task force include veterans from the Carol Stream VFW Post 10396 and American Legion Post 76, village trustees, park district staff members and many volunteers.