Will County veterans’ organizations bring value to communities

Greg Roach: ‘We want people to realize we have a very strong love for our country.’

Gregory Roach, Navy veteran and former American Legion Marne Post 13 commander, stands outside the Plainfield American Legion Marne Post 13 on Thursday.

Greg Roach proudly points to his longtime American Legion membership.

Roach, the senior vice-commander at the Plainfield American Legion Marne Post 13, said he has belonged to the American Legion for 23 years and the Sons of the American Legion for “four or five years.”

In addition, Roach’s wife, Jennifer, and their children, Gregory and Kate, are active in the post.

Marne Post 13 has 350 American Legion members (“Those are the veterans,” Roach said), as well as 80 members in the Sons of the American Legion and 60 members in the legion’s auxiliary, he said.

Roach said the post has quite a few young members and he feels it’s partly because of showing the community that Marne Post 13 was more than a social club. It actively promotes the American Legion’s four pillars: veterans affairs and rehabilitation, national security, Americanism and children and youth.

To that end, Marne Post 13 holds an annual Memorial Day parade. In 2022, about 1,000 people attended, Roach said. The post decorates graves at the community cemetery and St. Mary Immaculate Paris’ cemetery, Roach said.

Marne Post 13 participates in local Veterans Day events and holds flag retirement events, Roach said.

“We want people to realize we have a very strong love for our country, our founding documents and our system of government,” Roach said. “Our flag is very, very important to us.”

Marne Post 13 holds essay and art contests for students and pays for students, including the transportation, to participate in a simulated government program at the state level, Roach said.

The post awards $13,000 in scholarships each year to four graduating seniors from District 202 in Plainfield and also to children and grandchildren of Legion members, Roach said.

The post raises money for scholarships and other projects through its hall rentals, gaming machines, Bingo and other events, Roach said.

Roach said he understands young people are busy and they might get some “push back at home” if they further divide their time away from their family.

“But if they bring the entire family, they will see the value,” Roach said.

Nevertheless, American Legion membership has declined. Roach said in 1980, the American Legion in Illinois had 160,000 members. Today that number is 80,000, he said.

Dwindling membership is a concern. Roach said one reason numbers are lower is because the U.S. went to an all-volunteer military after the Vietnam War.

“It means a much smaller percentage of veterans as a result,” Roach said.

American Legion Marne Post 13 commander James Castaneda, right, a Marine veteran, checks in with Lee Perignon, a Navy veteran and American Legion member for 48 years, as they get ready for BINGO night.

‘Very few young people come to the meetings’

Thomas Horn, post commander of The American Legion Post 1080 in Joliet, said attracting younger members is challenging.

“I’m about the youngest one here on the board at 73,” Horn said. “We can’t get anybody to run. And very few young people come to the meetings.”

Horn said demographics is partly to blame since “young people aren’t buying into these old neighborhoods.”

But Horn said many service organizations are also struggling to attract younger members. Horn understands they’re busy with work and family activities.

“But the younger generation just doesn’t seem to value belonging to a club,” Horn said.

‘Veteran’s organizations are just a wealth of information’

Jackie Moore of Florida, whose late husband, Charles, belonged to Harry E. Anderson VFW Post 9545 and Tom E Hartung American Legion Post 1977, both in New Lenox, feels younger people might shy away from veterans’ organizations because they’re not interested in the social activities.

“They think the old people are boring,” Moore said. “And they think a lot of the little things they do are hokey and corny. They don’t realize that veterans’ organizations are just a wealth of information.”

Moore said many veterans don’t understand the services that are available through the U.S. Department of Veterans Services, from medical care to assistance with funerals.

Many veterans also understand that American Legion membership or Veterans of Foreign Wars membership comes with particular benefits of their own, too.

But the benefits don’t appear to be “a big enticement either,” she said.

“That’s very sad,” Moore said. “Some of the best care in the world is available through a veterans hospital.”

Moore said her husband received care at Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital in Hines and the Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Florida.

American Legions and VFWs also give veterans the opportunity to serve each other and the community, she said. Members might give rides to medical appointments to raise money for homeless veterans, she said.

“Just because they aren’t fighting anymore, doesn’t mean they don’t have each other’s backs,” Moore said.

Some people’s best memories are connected to veterans organizations, even when they themselves never served.

Ron Reeder, an Army veteran, wears his Korea Veterans cap during BINGO night at American Legion Marne Post 13  in Plainfield on Thursday.

Online connections no substitute for in-person camaraderie

Loretta DeMoss of Joliet said she grew up in veterans organizations, which spurred her involvement in a Wilmington Moose organization and the Joliet East Side Athletic Club; the latter had heavy veteran involvement, she said.

DeMoss said her great-grandmother was one of the first auxiliary members at Cantigny Post VFW in Joliet. Many members of her family were involved with the Disabled American Veterans before DeMoss was born, she said.

When DeMoss was a child, her aunt worked in the kitchen at a Lockport VFW and her uncle worked in the bar. The aunt and uncle helped coordinate holiday events, too, she said. DeMoss said she and her cousin put money into the jukebox and “danced and danced.”

“All four of us kids in the old Buick and Mom and Dad used to go to the VFW for the fish fry every single Friday,” DeMoss said.

DeMoss’ father later became post commander of a VFW in Rockdale, which was heavily involved in an annual carnival and parade, she said.

“Everyone was friendly,” DeMoss said. “I grew up with a lot of families down there.”

DeMoss said VFWs were the place where veterans could find support with veterans who understood “what they’d been through.” They could play cards with their peers and bring their family to events.

Before technology made communication easier, meeting friends for fish fries or holiday parties meant more, she said. She’s sad to see service organizations dwindling in numbers. She feels online-only connections are insufficient for strong relationships.

“They don’t have the camaraderie” she said. “They don’t have that friendship; they don’t have that bond. I don’t have those friends like I used to. I always wonder what they are doing now. Are they still alive? Are they still in Joliet? Are they still involved in VFWs or DAVs?”