A large crowd gathered on the lawn in front of the Memorial Building in Hinsdale on a beautiful sunny Memorial Day to honor those who lost their lives in military service.
But the day started much earlier for members of the American Legion Post 250 in Hinsdale and other veterans.
They held a sunrise service at Bronswood Cemetery in Oak Brook.
“We had 45 people at the cemetery in the morning, which is an excellent turnout for us,” said Tom Lynch, adjutant of Post 250.
For the second year, buglers from Hinsdale Central’s marching band participated in the service at Bronswood.
“They played to the colors, when the flag is raised and lowered to half-mast, and they played Taps for us,” Lynch said. “For high school students to be at a cemetery at 6:45 a.m., they deserve a lot of credit. And they want to do it.”
The activities resumed at 10 a.m., when a procession of Boy and Girl Scouts, Brownies, Cub Scouts, military veterans, local leaders, Trailblazers from the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the Hinsdale Central marching band walked north down Washington Street to the Memorial Building.
Lynch said when one of their members was unable to participate in the activities at the last minute, they recruited a Hinsdale Central alumnae, Sophie Lekas to fill in and carry the U.S. flag. She graduated Central last year, and attends the Naval Academy in Annapolis.
“She was in her dress whites, she was in step, she did an excellent job,” Lynch said.
The Hinsdale Chorale and the marching band performed the national anthem and a patriotic medley. Young students Gabrielle Camara, Isabel Diaz, Kathleen Malchow, Megan Michaels and Michaela Morrell read essays and speeches they had written about the importance of the flag and the freedom of speech.
“The American flag symbolizes justice,” wrote Gabrielle, an eighth-grader at St. Isaac Jogues School. “I am thankful to be living in a country where laws are upheld and where diversity is respected and even celebrated.”
Gabrielle continued by writing about how the United States survived as a young nation and transformed into a world leader.
“To me, more than anything our flag symbolized faith that our nation can overcome all challenges,” she wrote.
It was a long day, especially for the World War II veterans such as George Hogrewe, a former post commander who now lives in Naperville.
“Most of them now ride in cars because they can’t walk far anymore,” Hogrewe said.
But he said veterans enjoy the event and think it’s too important not to come out every year, he said.
Twitter @kfDoings
