More than 400 motorcycles arrived just before noon on Saturday, June 20, in downtown Marseilles, driving under an American flag to honor nine fallen heroes of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Spectators lined the sides of Rutland Street to welcome them in from the Grundy County Fairgrounds in Morris and usher them towards the Middle East Conflicts Wall for the 23rd Annual Honor and Remembrance Ceremony.
“Today is not simply about motorcycles. It’s not simply about a ride. It’s not even simply about a ceremony,” Master of Ceremonies Mike Cozzi said. “Today is a day of remembrance. Today is a day about gratitude. Today is about honoring heroes who answered a call greater than themselves and paid a price that most of us can’t truly understand.”
The Middle East Conflicts Wall was erected in 2004 with five panels to commemorate the ultimate sacrifice of 3,000 servicemen and servicewomen who had been killed in conflicts around the world since 1967.
“These were ordinary people who chose to do something extraordinary by serving our country,” Cozzi said. “While history may remember them as service members, their families remember them for the moments that had seemed ordinary at the time, but became priceless when they were gone.”
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Charles Zapp, who lost his nephew TJ in 2024 in Afghanistan, was present at the ceremony and became emotional recalling why he attended the Honor and Remembrance Ceremony.
“There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t think about him all the time,” Zapp said. “I come to this wall every month just to say hello to him, and that’s all peace of mind I’ve got.”
Since its inception, more names and panels have been added each year, with the nine new additions bringing the total to 8,041.
“We’re thankful for the men and women of bravery like these who have been willing to give their lives for the peace of the world and the freedom we enjoy right here today,” Bishop Ronnie White, an Air Force veteran, said. “Impress upon all of us the importance of the sacrificial giving of ourselves, in service to God, our country and our fellow man.”
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The fallen service members added to the Middle East Conflicts Wall in 2026 are:
- Sergeant William N. Howard
- Sergeant Edgar B. Torres-Tovar
- Captain Cody A. Khork
- Sergeant First Class Noah L. Tietjens
- Sergeant Declan J. Coady
- Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan
- Major Jeffrey R. O’Brien
- Sergeant First Class Nicole M. Amor
- Staff Sergeant Benajamin N. Pennington
“While today we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice, let us also remember those who continue walking amongst us,” Cozzi said. “Many of them carry burdens that cannot be seen and scars that are invisible to the eye.”
A salute to the wall’s panels by the Canaryville Veterans Association, the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, the Triple Bravo Initiative and Vietnam Vets Legacy Veterans opened the official proceedings, followed by a 21-gun volley and playing of Taps from American Legion Post 33.