100th birthday of World War II veteran celebrated by Oswego students

World War II veteran Duane Stevenson got teary-eyed as students at Prairie Point Elementary School in Oswego sang patriotic songs as part of a Veterans Day assembly on Friday, Nov. 10.

The St. Charles resident turned 100 on Veterans Day. Stevenson, who grew up in Elmhurst, is the grandfather of Prairie Point sign language interpreter Melissa Martin.

“I really appreciated it,” Stevenson said after the assembly.

Stevenson was drafted into the U.S. Army when he was 19 years old. He saw his fair share of action during his three years of service.

“We had a whole lot of training,” Stevenson said. “We had to train for amphibious warfare. I survived three invasions.”

He hopes the students appreciate the sacrifices that veterans have made.

“Veterans were taken from their families, taken from their jobs and taken even from school,” Stevenson said. “Most of us were just out of high school.”

After he got out of the Army, he used his training to find a job as a truck driver.

“In the Army, I was a truck driver, so it was easy for me to get a truck driving job when I got out,” Stevenson said.

He has great love for the U.S. and hopes that other people do as well.

“I say it’s the greatest country on Earth,” Stevenson said. “We have opportunities. There are just so many things to choose from.”

Stevenson has been a part of the Veterans Day assembly at Prairie Point School for the last several years.

“He started attending when my oldest child was here and then it became a longstanding tradition,” Martin said. “The kids know him. The staff know him. So there was no question that he had to celebrate his 100th birthday here with us.”

The guest speaker at the assembly, Bill Bijou, who also served in the U.S. Army, has a granddaughter who attends Prairie Point Elementary School.

Organizing the Veterans Day assembly every year is Prairie Point fourth grade teacher Cindy Niles, who is a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard in Peoria. She was happy to help Stevenson celebrate his upcoming birthday.

“We have kind of adopted him as our Prairie Point grandpa because he’s been coming here for years,” Niles said.

Students played an active role in the assembly, which featured student speakers as well as students singing patriotic songs. In addition to Stevenson, other veterans also attended the assembly.

“It’s just super important to me personally for all the kids to see our veterans and hear about everything they have done for us,” Niles said. “It’s just a little way for us to be able to thank them.”

Prairie Point Principal Noelle Fahey is appreciative of her efforts.

“It’s really an awesome event for our veterans and our community too,” she said. “It’s one of our favorite days of the whole year. And it’s extremely special and humbling, too, for us to celebrate and also remember and honor our veterans.”