Elgin honors veterans during annual ceremony
About 100 people filled the ballroom at the Centre of Elgin on Thursday to honor veterans during the city's annual ceremony.
The event featured music by the Larkin High School band, comments from emcee Tricia Dieringer and Mayor David Kaptain and guest speaker Jerry Turnquist, an Elgin historian.
In recounting the origins of Armistice Day and then Veterans Day, Turnquist said Elginites made up roughly 1,500 of the 4 million Americans that served in World War I. About 50 of them are among the 116,000 Americans who died. Their names are memorialized at Veterans Memorial Park.
He noted that Thursday also marked the 100th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
The honor guard from American Legion Post 57 offered a rifle salute outside the window of the ballroom, followed by the playing of taps by band members Jackson Baker and Madelyn Dobbeck.
Dieringer closed the ceremony with a final thought.
"We veterans do not live for war. We fight for peace," she said. "Keep peace in your heart, and most of all, when you see a veteran, say thank you."