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Mendota native Chad Hochstatter credits his four years in the Marine Corps for setting him on the right path. Now, he's the school resource officer at Mendota High School and is heavily involved in youth sports in town as a board member and coach of several sports.
Thank You, Veterans
A tribute to local veterans
Illinois Valley/Shaw Local News Network
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Fran Baker of La Salle enlisted in the Navy on St. Patrick’s Day 1993 intending to find a new direction.
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Streator boys and girls soccer coach J.T. Huey served in the Army and was stationed in the Diyala Province, which at the time hotbed of the Iraqi insurgency, as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom after the 9/11 attacks.
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Daniel Higgins, who dropped out of Marseilles High School at 17, made it way around the world during a decorated career on US Navy submarines.
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Dave Bartley of Peru was stationed outside Frankfurt, Germany, as a 75 Bravo personnel administrative clerk for the U.S. Army, when the wall came down.
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Chandler Bedecker, a Streator native, recently made the transition from being in the military service to a career in civilian life as a mill helper at Nucor Tubular Products in Marseilles.
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He took one look at the sea, dreamed of a Navy career and finished as chief after 20 years' service. Oglesby Mayor Jason Curran encourages almost any young person to try military service, but cautions that family life with the service can be complicated and stressful.
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The Marines called him “Gramps” – Gordon Parks was only 23 – but the moniker was respectful. After two tours in Vietnam, Parks carried himself with authority and even his commanding officer took note.
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Marseilles resident Jack Leininger, a native of Varna, saves thousands of live with his rescue helicopter in Vietnam.
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He’s been to 47 countries and six continents, but everything for Kristian Wahlgren comes back to growing up in Princeton and playing sports with neighborhood friends on Church Street in Princeton and at Princeton High School.