Community Voices: Where have all the veterans gone?

Well, August is here, and summer is fading. School has already started in some Sauk Valley communities for the 2025-26 school year.

Please watch out for the kids who will be walking, running and riding their bikes to school in the next few days. They will be everywhere.

Now that we’ve handled the public service announcement, I want to ask everyone to be on the lookout for another group of people: the veterans of the Sauk Valley.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that over 3,500 veterans live in Whiteside County and another 1,880 reside in Lee County. These veterans appear at parades, holidays that honor military service, and special events such as dinners and reunions. However, they tend to disappear soon after these events end, only to be seen again when the next special event occurs.

There are fraternal organizations in the Sauk Valley where veterans gather to share stories and celebrate camaraderie that are open year-round, which veterans, and in some cases the public, can visit and patronize as often as they’d like.

However, these fraternal organizations may not be around much longer unless more is done to help keep them open.

The American Legion posts in Sterling and Rock Falls, along with the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Rock Falls, are struggling to grow their memberships. Despite all veterans in the Sauk Valley being eligible to join these groups, they have not, and recruitment has remained slow and stagnant for several years now.

Conversations with post commanders of these American Legion and VFW posts reveal concerns about the future of these groups. These posts have existed for 50, 70 and 100 years in Sterling, Rock Falls and Dixon, but without a strong, active membership to back them, their days are numbered.

The Sauk Valley has an American Legion, a VFW or both in towns from Rochelle to Morrison and beyond, and veterans do live in these communities. The question, however, is, “Where have all the veterans gone?”

Before you say, “They are passing away every day,” that’s true. But as we say thanks for a job well done and say goodbye to the “Greatest Generation,” others have earned their stripes since the end of World War II.

Censusreporter.com provides a breakdown of veterans in Whiteside and Lee counties. We know our World War II veterans are decreasing in number. However, veterans from the Korean and Vietnam wars are the two largest groups of veterans in the Sauk Valley, followed by those who served in Desert Storm, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, which are close behind.

Veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars currently compose most of these groups’ memberships. However, their numbers are beginning to decrease. This leaves veterans younger than 60 – those who served in Desert Storm up to Inherent Resolve – as the next generation of veterans who are needed to join these organizations.

There are veterans in this group who are active in these organizations, but there’s not enough of them to make a real difference.

If the almost 1,800 veterans in Whiteside and Lee counties who served in Desert Storm and the Global War on Terror campaigns joined their local veterans’ organizations, it would greatly benefit their communities by actively supporting fellow veterans and helping to prevent the closure of their community American Legion or VFW post.

Veterans are a unique group. They have experienced sacrifice, loss and victory, creating an unbreakable bond among themselves.

Lt. Dan, played by Gary Sinise in the movie “Forrest Gump,” says, “While we can never do enough to show gratitude to our nation’s defenders, we can always do a little more.”

Those who can do a little more for our nation’s defenders are the veterans themselves. Sometimes, a former soldier needs someone to talk to, a fighter pilot needs to tell their story, a naval midshipman needs a friend to confide in, or a Marine who suffers from Gulf syndrome needs medical care. All need the help that only their fellow veteran can provide.

The American Legion and VFW posts in our communities provide military funeral honors for veterans. They have Honor Guard units that participate in local parades, perform ceremonies that honor veterans, and maintain veterans’ memorials in our communities.

There also are other veteran support programs available through these organizations, as well as programs that promote patriotism and service through scholarships for college-bound students.

Unfortunately, this will all disappear one day if the next “Greatest Generation” of veterans doesn’t answer the call to duty.

A veteran is a community leader who has overcome challenges and hardship. The challenge today is to keep the American Legion and VFW posts in our Sauk Valley communities open and actively supporting their fellow veterans, their communities and our future leaders.

To join these organizations, talk with a friend who is a member, or contact the post and speak with the membership director. Becoming a member of these organizations is just a conversation or a phone call away. It’s that easy.

The communities of the Sauk Valley are relying on the next “Greatest Generation” of veterans to accept this challenge and face it with the honor and courage that only a veteran can summon in this time of need.

Jim Wise is a Sterling City Council member.