YORKVILLE – Hundreds of people gathered May 29 in Yorkville’s Town Square Park for Memorial Day services that honored the nation’s war dead while encouraging the living to make the most of freedoms paid for on the field of battle.
Yorkville American Legion Post 489′s annual program featured honor guards, a rifle salute, patriotic music from the Yorkville Middle School band and inspiring speeches.
Watching from the crowd was Norm Meier of Yorkville, a veteran of the U.S. Army’s First Division, the famed “Big Red One.” Meier served from 1967 to 1969, including a tour of duty in Vietnam, where he received the Purple Heart.
“I got hit by shrapnel in a firefight,” Meier said. “I was fortunate. I lost a lot of buddies. That’s why this is a special day for me.”
The Legion’s program sought to make it a special and meaningful day for the audience, with featured speakers who brought a consistent message of gratitude and remembrance.
Mayor John Purcell paid tribute to veterans as “the true foundation of our country, giving us a life of choice and freedom.”
Emily Weber of the Your Performing Arts Center in Yorkville focused on hope.
“In times of adversity, hope emerges,” Weber said. “Hope ignites the flame of the human spirit. Veterans “embody hope in action. Let us embrace their message of hope. ... we owe them a debt that can never be repaid.”
Service officer Jorge Arciniega of the Veterans Assistance Commission of Kendall County described his struggles after returning to civilian life and told the crowd how the VACKC provided him with the resources he needed.
“I got hit by shrapnel in a firefight. I was fortunate. I lost a lot of buddies. That’s why this is a special day for me.”
— Norm Meier, Yorkville Vietnam veteran
Arciniega served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2002 to 2014 and was deployed three times to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan. After leaving the military, Arciniega enrolled in school.
“I was older than my peers and I was starting life all over again,” Arciniega said. “I had very little connection with the other students. ... and that just frustrated me. It made me sad, bitter and angry that no one understood me, or so I thought.”
Arciniega told the crowd that he felt empty and depressed. “I had lost my identity,” he said.
At first, Arciniega denied the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder that his family members had noticed.
“It was not until the day I found the Veterans Assistance Commission of Kendall County that I learned that I was not as different as I thought,” Arciniega said. “There are thousands of veterans in our country who share a similar story.”
The VACKC helped Arciniega obtain the medical and mental health care he needed and took him through the process of submitting disability claims with the Veterans Administration. More recently, he was able to buy a house using a VA loan.
“Today, I am proud to say that I am the VACKC’s creative director, transportation coordinator, outreach coordinator and a certified county veterans assistance officer,” Arciniega said. “We serve as advocates ensuring that the needs of veterans are met and that their rights are protected.”
Legion Post 489 Cmdr. Anthony Cella encouraged the crowd to honor America’s heroes by “trying to make the country they died for a better place.” He also highlighted the challenges faced by returning veterans and the daily tragedy of veteran suicides.
“We need to find ways to help our veterans before we have to memorialize them,” he said.
City of Yorkville Superintendent of Recreation Shay Remus, who served as master of ceremonies, read the names of 61 Kendall County soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who made the ultimate sacrifice.
As Remus read their names, Boy Scouts Paul Emmert and Eric Montano of Troop 40 sounded a bell in tribute.
One of the middle school band instructors, Cassandra Gallagher, said the music students’ participation in the event is much bigger than an ordinary concert.
“It’s meaningful. I tell them ‘This is not about you. You’re honoring somebody else.’”