Memorial Day installation Field of the Fallen in Cary through Monday

The Field of the Fallen has been set up in Cary, where it will remain this Memorial Day weekend to honor service members killed in action.

The installation is at 3340 Three Oaks Road by Aldi and will remain open continuously through its closing ceremony at 5 p.m. Monday. It memorializes 354 veterans from Illinois who have been killed in action since Operation Desert Storm.

Aaron Stain, president of the Veterans Network Committee of Northern Illinois, which is hosting Field of the Fallen, said soldiers die twice, once when they physically die and once when their name is forgotten.

Bill Lunsford, who was helping set up the field Friday afternoon, said the group’s mission is “never to forget.”

This year, the field also has a suicide awareness tent. It is meant to recognize veterans who died by suicide for their “service, pain and sacrifice,” said Sean Greaney, the adjutant at American Legion Post 491 in McHenry.

The Legion hopes to undertake a rolling tribute for those veterans and get names for next year. People are invited to share their submissions on the American Legion website.

Memorial Day weekend is not about picnics or barbecues, Stain said.

“It’s about remembering our fallen,” Stain said.