Yorkville shows gratitude to vets on Memorial Day

YORKVILLE – U.S. Marine Corps veteran Ken Havelka definitely received the message of thanks and gratitude from the large crowd that filled Town Square Park in Yorkville on Memorial Day.

Havelka and his fellow honor guard comrades from Yorkville American Legion Post 489 stood at attention as they surveyed the 300 or so residents who had turned out to honor America’s war dead and pay tribute to all veterans.

“It fills us up with pride,” Havelka said.

The sun shown down on Yorkville’s premier park space as the crowd found comfort under shade trees while flags fluttered in the wind.

Yorkville Superintendent of Recreation Shay Remus served as master of ceremonies. She addressed her own remarks directly to the many veterans in the crowd.

“It is an honor to salute you for your service to our country,” Remus said.

The featured speakers for the event were Congresswoman Lauren Underwood and Kendall County Board Chairman Scott Gryder.

Underwood, D-Naperville, and Gryder, a Republican from Oswego, are potential opponents for the 14th Congressional District seat in the Nov. 8 general election.

But there was no hint of partisan politics in their remarks, which touched on remarkably similar themes.

Both exhorted the crowd to live their lives in knowledge of the hard-won freedoms they enjoy through the sacrifices of the nation’s soldiers, sailors and airmen.

“Let us reflect on what we can be doing to honor the lives of the fallen through action, through doing our part to make our union more perfect,” Underwood said.

“It is our duty to live every day to the fullest in their honor,” Gryder said.

Yet perhaps the most moving of the speeches came from Post 489 Commander Anthony Cella, who began his remarks with a gripping account of last August’s evacuation from Afghanistan, recounting the deaths of American service members.

Cella reminded the crowd that those deaths were simply the latest.

“From the American Revolution to the Global War on Terror, over 1 million Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice,” Cella said.

“We need to remember all of our veterans so they do not have to carry their burdens alone,” Cella said. “They do it for our children so they can grow up in an America that is strong and free.”

Between the speakers came performances by the Yorkville Middle School Band and later there was the presentation of a wreath by Diane Dillow and Deb Lechowicz of the Post 489 Auxiliary.

In a solemn tribute, Remus read the names of the fallen Kendall County service members on the Yorkville War Memorial.

Each name was punctuated with the dirge-like clanging of a bell by Boy Scout Troop 40 members Andrew Golinski and Eric Montano.

The post’s rifle squad fired a salute and 12-year-old bugler Anthony Cella, Jr. played taps to conclude the ceremonies.