Plainfield Honors Veterans with Annual Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony

On a sun-splashed and sultry Memorial Day morning, David Foeder joined roughly 1,000 Plainfield residents who delayed their cook-out plans to salute our country’s fallen heroes in a ceremony at Settlers’ Park.

For Foeder, the annual American Legion Parade and Salute on Monday also served as an opportunity to pay tribute to friend Greg Roach, a soldier who was recently sent to the Middle East.

“We’ve got a good friend who’s been just deployed to Afghanistan and we thought it was appropriate to bring our kids out and show them how we respect and honor those who serve for us,” Foeder said.

With a large contingent of flag-waving patrons wearing red, white, and blue on hand, several speakers, including Plainfield Mayor Michael Collins, address the crowd.

“It’s a veteran who gave us the freedom of religion,” said Collins, a veteran himself. “It’s a veteran who gave us the freedom of the press. It’s a veteran who gave us the freedom of speech. It’s a veteran who gave us the right to assemble as we do today. It is a veteran who has given us the right to vote. It’s also a veteran who salutes the flag whenever it’s presented.

“All gave some. Some gave all.”

American Legion Marne Post No. 13 Acting Cmdr. Frank Pecoraro added, “Today, we’re not here celebrating death, we’re here celebrating life. All of the guys here that served really sacrificed 24-7 to keep this country free.”

The Rev. David Medow, pastor of St. Mary Immaculate Parish, read out the names of 11 military veterans who died over the last year.

As is tradition, the Memorial Day tribute began with a parade from Plainfield Central High School to Settlers’ Park. Several groups participated in the march down James and Lockport streets, including the Plainfield Central, Plainfield East and Plainfield North High School marching bands, the Knights of Columbus, area boy and girl scouts, and, of course, many military veterans.

In attendance at their first Plainfield Memorial Day parade, Laura House and her children, Sadie, 3, and Kellen, 4, sat on the curb of Lockport Street anchored by two U.S. flags and a homemade sign they brought from their house.

“It is very important to honor the troops,” Laura House said. “The troops honor and serve us every day. I just want to teach them how important it is to respect our troops.”

However, the picturesque setting didn’t come without a price. As temperatures hovered in the mid-'80s, at least two members of the Plainfield Central High School marching band were hospitalized for heat related issues. In an effort to combat the heat, volunteers handed out bottles of cold water. About half-dozen ambulances were spotted between Settlers’ Park and Central High School throughout the ceremonies.

As parade-goers returned to Plainfield Center, they made a stop along the way to lay a wreath at a memorial for a student killed in Desert Storm.

“Today is all about remembering the men and women of the military (who have) lost loved ones,” American Legion Auxiliary member Carolyn Dement said. “They’ve made the ultimate sacrifice and it’s about the families they’ve left behind. We have a lot of people here who lost husbands, sons, or grandsons and we have to remember those families and be supportive of them."