Waukegan Memorial Day Parade honors those who ‘gave all'
As Waukegan's Memorial Day Parade moved west on Washington Street toward Veterans Memorial Plaza, the drum cadence from members of the Waukegan High School JROTC was unmistakable.
Not a rousing march, it was a serious and slower-moving sound. For the Rev. Richard Frontjes of Christ Episcopal Church, who offered the invocation and benediction for the ensuing ceremony, it meant the entrance to an important event.
Clay Erickson, a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces who was at the city's Memorial Day events, said both taps — which came near the end of the ceremony — and the drum cadence have a similar meaning.
'All gave some,' Erickson said of members of the military. 'Some gave all,' he added, referring to those who lost their lives and are remembered on Memorial Day.
Erickson and Frontjes were among more than 200 people who paid tribute to fallen members of the military with the city's annual Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony on Monday in downtown Waukegan.
Mayor Sam Cunningham said the drum cadence during the parade is part of the mood-setting for the ceremony that follows. It pays tribute to the men and women of the military who fought wars risking and, sometimes, losing their lives to protect the freedom that citizens share.
'It helps us understand the sacrifice made for the liberties we have today in this country,' Cunningham said after the events. 'It helps us understand there are times when the armed forces are needed. You have the cadence to help us understand that.'
Leading the parade were a group of veterans — many from American Legion Homer Dahringer Post 2981 — followed by a color guard composed of members of the Waukegan Fire Department, elected officials and the JROTC.
Ron Painter, the commanding officer of the JROTC and a retired Army major, said Memorial Day is a time he thinks of people who died in action to protect Americans' freedom.
Ana Martinez-Martinez is a JROTC member considering joining the military.
Martinez-Martinez said she plans to join the Illinois Army National Guard when she graduates from Waukegan High School next spring. She is planning to start working on her application this summer.
'I want to do more than just go to a job,' Martinez-Martinez said, 'It will also help pay for my education.'
After walking the three blocks on Washington, from Genesee Street to West Street, most of the marchers joined the crowd already assembled at Veterans Plaza. There, they paid tribute to those Erickson said 'gave all.'
Sharing the story of Lt. Homer Dahringer, Cunningham said he was a graduate of Waukegan High, captained the basketball team at the University of Illinois and before the U.S. entered World War I, he completed officer training at Fort Sheridan.
Flying planes behind enemy lines to gather information, Cunningham said, before he flew a mission on Sept. 16, 1918, Dahringer wrote a letter to his parents about a mission he was undertaking. He 'did not anticipate any trouble.' There was also foreshadowing.
''I am scheduled to fly an infantry liaison plane,'' Cunningham said, quoting the letter. ''It is the worst kind of work and everything rests with God. If I do not come back, you may know that I gave my all and my best to my country.' He never came back from that mission.'
Lisa Madden, the board chair of Honor Flight Lake County, has spent most of her adult life involved with members of the military. Her husband is a U.S. Navy veteran and a police officer in Lake County. While people were enjoying time with friends and family, she said they need to pause.
'While it is not wrong to enjoy the freedom protected by those who served, we must remember there are many who are grieving their lost loved ones today,' Madden said.
Taking the message of the day a step further, Cunningham suggested putting the memory of those killed in war into everyday life in, 'how we live, serve and care for one another as neighbors (and) citizens.'
Some of Cunningham's words were not unlike the benediction offered by Frontjes. The pastor said it is important to remember those who were killed in action, but also to take a lesson from their lives.
'As we go forth from this place, may we carry in our hearts the memory of those who gave all,' Frontjes said. 'May their courage strengthen us. May their devotion to duty inspire us. And may their legacy of service guide us to live not only in comfort but in purpose.'
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