Military, families gather in honor of 9/11 at Barrington fest

Liana and Kevin Kasmar of Barrington wrote a prayer on a paper star, then posted it with hundreds of others on a prayer wall at Barrington's Family Freedom Festival 9.11 on Saturday.

The couple prayed for their son, Marine Lance Corporal Cameron Kasmar, 20, who just returned from serving in Afghanistan, and their daughter Emily Kasmar, 27, an Air Force captain and intensive care nurse, who returned from Iraq.

"It's always worrisome, said Liana. "But we're proud of them and they chose to do this."

Hundreds of military families, soldiers and veterans gathered Saturday at the seventh annual event in downtown Barrington. The event honors the victims of the 911 terrorist attacks, the ensuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and all branches of service.

The event opened at 9:11 a.m. with about 700 registered participants in a race, including around 200 ROTC members. It was coordinated with races at the same time in Afghanistan and elsewhere, said event organizer Dirk Beveridge, founder of the We Do Care organization in Barrington.

The event's opening ceremonies offered prayers and songs, along with a color guard with multigenerations of veterans. Two men who served in the South Pacific during World War II laid a wreath near the main stage in honor of their fallen comrades. Frank Perhats, a Lake Barrington resident and VFW Post 7706 member, along with Yancey Torrez of Waukegan, of the Marine Corps League, donned white gloves for the honor.

"I'm proud of my country and my outfit. I was just floating on a cloud doing this," said Torrez.

While the older generation shook hands, a younger generation of ROTC in their army combat uniforms from the University of Illinois Chicago reflected on the current fight for freedom.

"We have a deep sense of pride by coming together like this," said battalion spokeswoman and Cadet Katie Hartnett, a Loyola University senior. "It's not just Army or Navy, it's just unifying because of what's been happening and a determination to not let it happen again."

While vets and families mingled, some continued to post prayers on paper stars on the wall outside the Prayer Tent, hosted by the Village Church of Barrington and other churches. More than 400 red, white or blue stars covered the wall and more were expected as the day continued, compared to 300 altogether last year, said Village Church member Paul Rowland.

Each star had a name of a loved one in the service, said Rowland.

They included one for Dave in the Air Force, "Missing my dear husband while he's away. Sometimes we both think why are we doing this."

And another for Bahr in the Army: "He's going there two days after my birthday and a day before his graduation. I'm his little sister and it is hard to see him go, especially when they just changed his orders. He was going to go to college and work in the reserves, like most of his unit. I want prayers for all of them, most of them are seniors right now and it must be just as hard for their families to hear the news."