Aging veterans appeal for help with future Memorial Days

Each May, Dennis Znaniecki calls for residents of the Illinois Valley to commemorate the dead. People respond generously. At Memorial Day 2024, however, Znaniecki called for future volunteers, too.

Znaniecki, commander of the Peru Veterans Memorial Group, said Monday it’s getting harder for he and the aging corps of veterans to handle the yearly observances and to ensure Memorial Day is solemnly observed for generations to come.

We are the best country in the world. We are not perfect, but we are the best.”

—  Phil Valle, Peru Veterans Memorial Group

He specifically thanked Boy Scouts Troop 123 and Cub Scouts Pack 3709 for decorating local graves, a duty that had once fallen to the memorial group.

“We only have so much longer,” Znaniecki said, “and we’re not going to do events like this.”

It’s a theme that resonated at programs across the Illinois Valley. The aging corps of Vietnam veterans – and the fast-dwindling of veterans before them – will need reinforcements to carry on the yearly observances for the fallen.

“I love my brothers and I salute them,” said Capt. Mark Kerasotes of the U.S. Army (retired), keynote speaker at the Peru observances. “These men have hearts of 20-year-olds, but they’re not getting younger and could use some help.”

The numbers have tumbled since last year – Chaplain Phil Valle read the names of 26 veterans who’ve passed since Memorial Day 2023 – and Monday’s event in Peru honored another figure who recently passed.

Former state Sen. Gary Dahl, while not a member of the Peru Veterans Memorial Group, was posthumously lauded for his work on behalf of veterans. Dahl, who died Oct. 1, had served in the U.S. Army as a helicopter mechanic (1958-1962), and spent the rest of his life aiding veterans groups and supporting veterans causes during an eventful stint in the Illinois General Assembly.

“He did a lot for us veterans,” Znaniecki said. “He always sold poppies for us and he wasn’t even a part of our group. When we needed volunteers, he was one of the first to jump up, take the mantle and go.”

Valle, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force (1966-70), personally knew and admired Gary Dahl – “He was for America” – and enjoyed an even closer relationship with the late Jim Taylor, the posthumous honoree in Spring Valley.

Taylor died Oct. 11 following a short bout with cancer. A distinguished athlete at Hall High School (Class of 1958), Taylor was drafted in 1964 and honorably discharged two years later earning two Purple Hearts among other honors.

Bob Reed, commander of the Spring Valley American Legion and VFW, said James was a pillar of the veterans community and deserving of the posthumous honor.

Valle made it a point to be at both the Peru and Spring Valley observances not only to honor his friends but also to honor all whose sacrifices have given Americans unique freedoms.

“It was a privilege to serve my country,” Valle said. “We are the best country in the world. We are not perfect, but we are the best.”