Batavia to break ground on Flag Day Monument during June 14 ceremony

The Fox Valley Patriotic Organization is hosting a groundbreaking for the Flag Day Monument at 6 p.m. June 14 on the Riverwalk in downtown Batavia. The event is open to the public.

The Batavia Community Band will play at the Peg Bond Center on the Riverwalk, followed by an informational presentation about the monument and a groundbreaking at the monument site, according to a news release.

Every year on Flag Day, Batavia honors Dr. Bernard Cigrand, a dentist for decades in downtown Batavia who was one of the original advocates for having a national day of recognition for the American flag. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed a day each year to celebrate the American flag, according to the release.

Since 2016, the Fox Valley Patriotic Organization has been working to raise the funds needed to build a national-caliber monument dedicated to the history of the American flag next to City Hall on the Riverwalk in downtown Batavia.

Thanks to many generous funders, donors, sponsors and patriotic citizens, the organization is ready to break ground for the monument, which combines history, art and science in a tribute to Cigrand, the Medal of Honor recipients from Illinois, past and present military members, first responders and leaders of Batavia’s past and present, according to the release.

For more information, to purchase a brick or donate to the project, go to flagdaymonument.com.