In 1961, Jerry Smith was washing windows at a JCPenney in Dixon when he thought he caught a lucky break: He’d found a job at a shoe store that would pay him $60 a week. Fast forward a few decades to NIU, Army service in Germany, a mayoral term: "I have been so blessed," he said.

Wartime chronicles written by a Civil War veteran steeped in Sandwich history have been rediscovered by a Malta man who has a knack for finding historical items.

Marine veteran Tom Bulin, of Oswego, said what most people forget about the Vietnam War is that most of the fighters on both sides were very young.

Momence Superintendent Shannon Anderson found a solution to his aimlessness and struggles in high school through the Marine Corps.

Army veteran Doug Katz started designing kitchen knives that wouldn't inflame his hand and shoulder pain. Now he's grown his Nulu knives into a business that specializes in helping those with disabilities.

Carol Stream veteran Wallace Alcon served his county for more than four decades in a numerous capacities being a chaplain

“He was always so proud to serve,” said Dixon resident Carla Hill of her son, a veteran of the United States Army, who died in August 2024 after a long battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

After serving as an Army sergeant, Floyd Dunn of Sterling is now serving again – this time by helping veterans face the hardships of life back home.

Keeping up a 85-year-old building is no small feat, yet Michael Farrari is working hard at it, as commander of the Geneva-Fox River American Legion Post 75.