A day for 'those who have gone before us': Memorial Day in Glenview
"The day is for all those who have gone before us," said Wayne Carle, a Marine who went overseas to Okinawa in 1972, of Memorial Day.
Carle, commander of American Legion Joseph M. Sesterhenn Post 166, and his wife, Post Auxiliary President Mary Carle, have been organizing Memorial Day events in Glenview for more than 20 years.
"It's also to remember all the Gold Star fathers and mothers who have lost sons and daughters," said Carle, who served from 1971-95, retiring as a master gunnery sergeant.
Glenview's Memorial Day activities will include a parade and ceremony starting at 10 a.m. Monday. The ceremony usually concludes around 11:30 a.m. The parade, headed by parade Grand Marshal Casimir Mroz, a Marine who is a 50-year Legionnaire from Sesterhenn Post 166, starts at Depot and Grove streets.
The short procession heads east to Pine Street, then south to Glenview Road and east to the Veterans Memorial at River Drive.
It will include Village President Mike Jenny, Glenview Fire Department personnel, the Glenbrook South High School Marching Titans, a contingent from St. Catherine Labouré School, Boy Scout Troop 69, and a traditional appearance of legion members driving Corvettes.
Master of Ceremonies Bill Attea - superintendent of Glenview District 34 from 1970-94, namesake of Attea Middle School and a member of Sesterhenn Post 166 - will kick things off at the Veterans Memorial.
Soprano soloist Tricia Melzer-Swaydrak, a friend of Post 166, will sing "God Bless America." Auxiliary member Bonnie Gerth will deliver the national anthem.
Glenview Trustee Jim Bland will give a special address. Chosen in 2021 by Crain's Chicago Business among "Notable Military Veteran Executives," Bland graduated in 1997 from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Bland was a field artillery captain in the Army, Army Reserve and Army National Guard from 1997-2006. He serves as the civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army for Illinois.
Appointed to the village board in 2021, Bland recently was sworn in for his first full term after a successful April 4 election.