Elgin pays tribute to veterans, marks end of World War I
Elgin continued its tradition of honoring veterans, but Sunday's Veterans Day observance took on special significance.
Mayor David Kaptain paid special tribute to the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I - the "war to end all wars."
"The ground we stand on and this memorial should be rededicated each Nov. 11," Kaptain said.
The ceremony featured music from the Elgin High School band, which played the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and honored the branches of the armed services with appropriate themes, as veterans from each branch stood.
A Combined Veterans' Color Guard presented and retired the colors, and American Legion Post 57 in Elgin delivered a rifle salute.
Kaptain put the anniversary in perspective by reciting a grim catalog of the changes in the way war has been fought since the First World War.
"These young men glimpsed the future of warfare, and it was not pretty," he said.
He also talked about the changes the war brought on the world stage.
"The royal families that had ruled countries for hundreds of years were displaced from power. The war had changed the way we looked at government and the way we looked at the way the world was run," he said. "Families like the Romanoffs, the Habsburgs, the Hohenzollerns, all disappeared and became part of history."
He closed by reflecting on the Elgin war memorial and its meaning by quoting former President Calvin Coolidge at the dedication of the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri.
"This memorial has not been raised to commemorate war and victory, but rather the results of war and victory, which are embodied in peace and in liberty," he said.
Veterans from several wars attended, including World War II Navy vet and Elgin resident Warren Sullivan, who served in the South Pacific, beginning when he was 17.
"Freedom is not free. It's got a price tag and it's pretty expensive," added West Dundee resident Rich Moen, who served in the Air Force.
City Council member Terry Gavin said Elgin is a community that always has loved its veterans, dating back to the days when the Grand Army of the Republic, veterans of the Civil War, marched in the city's parades.
"Elgin does a phenomenal job," said Persian Gulf War veteran and Elgin resident Scott Webb said. "Elgin has always been very welcoming to veterans."