Veterans honored in West Dundee parade

Rick Browne of West Dundee grabbed his father George Browne, 82, by the hand and pulled him out of his lawn chair as veterans made their way down Route 72 Sunday during Dundee Township's Memorial Day Parade.

Once the elder Browne, who fought in World War II and also was in the Navy during the Korean War, got to his feet, he paid tribute to his fellow veterans as they solemnly walked by.

"Thank you, boys," said the elder Browne, a former Elgin resident now living in Wisconsin.

The Browne family says they honor each Memorial Day by attending the parade, something Linda Browne, Rick's wife, says the family has done for the past 23 years.

Memorial Day is not only a time to wave the flag and attend parades, but it also is a day the elder Browne reserves for reflection, by thinking about the soldiers who never came back.

"I always shed a tear," he said.

The parade included local politicians, current candidates, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, area police and fire departments and the Fox Valley Citizens for Legal Immigration, which occupied the largest float of the day.

One of the day's more prominent displays came from a pair of men dressed in torn green clothes and splashed in fake blood.

They donned leg irons and shackles around their necks and barricaded themselves in a wooden cage to demonstrate the plight of prisoners of war.

The parade also featured Piece of Cake Bakery in East Dundee proudly advertising that it sent 2.5 tons of cookies to the troops.

The parade started in East Dundee at Van Buren and Main streets and ended in West Dundee at Grafelman Park, where the crowd gathered for a ceremony featuring remarks from local politicians and patriotic songs from the Dundee-Crown High School marching band.