By Ray Limbach
VFW Post 1337 Historian
and
Bill Starr
Commander, American Legion Post 525
When the virus hit, little was known. When it came out that the most vulnerable were the older adults, and the number of people dying in retirement and elderly care environments, Mount Prospect’s veterans groups had to take precautions. For instance, many members were scheduled for an Honor Flight to Washington D.C., which was cancelled. Many other events were cancelled, as well, as the veterans took all the precautions that were advised.
Most began a self-quarantine program beginning in March. Getting masks and cleaning wipes (not to mention tissue and toilet paper) was next to impossible. We began to video contact our loved ones. We only went out when necessary and learned to keep distance between individuals. All stores that were open required masks and social distancing, with well-placed markers on where to stand and how to travel between aisles.
With all the uncertainties that each of our members went through, the leadership of both VFW Post 1337 and American Legion Post 525 continued to move forward. Virtual meetings via Zoom were set up to inform and advise on the current situation. Many members met virtually, by computer or over the phone.
May is always a busy time for both posts. Poppy Day for both posts (May 14th) was held via two separate GoFundMe sites. Members also solicited donations at the Mount Prospect Farmer’s Market several weeks during the summer and the public was very generous. So, the Poppy coffers were replenished.
Grave Decoration Day was held in May, as usual. Members of both posts met to decorate approximately 300 graves at 20 separate cemeteries. The Posts also honored all the service workers who were actively protecting them during the COVID crisis with a banner in front of the downtown police and fire station. Masks were worn and all safety precautions were observed.
The Memorial Day parade and ceremony of May 2020 was cancelled, but some members quietly met at the Veteran Memorial without members of the public to honor fallen comrades.
For members of the public, a video was made of previous parades and posted online. In addition, Legion Commander Starr, who annually serves as the Master of Ceremonies for Memorial Day, filmed a short message which was broadcast via the Mt. Prospect Park District website, along with Memorial Day thoughts from VFW member and American Legionnaire Kyle Brooks who had been scheduled to speak at the 2020 ceremony.
The traditional “What Memorial Day means to me” essay contest was hosted by the VFW, despite COVID. Other years the winner had ridden in a convertible and be invited to read his/her entry at the Memorial Day ceremony itself. Instead, the 2020 winner Stephanie Bennet’s winning paper was posted on the VFW website.
Per usual, the American Legion gave awards to Junior High School students at six different graduations – virtually. The awards included boy/girl Citizenship, Academic and All School Medallions along with an official Certificate of Appreciation to all deserving students at all schools as normal but, of course, virtually.
The VFW also gave out Patriots Pen awards to grade school students, “Voice of Democracy” awards to high school students and other honors to first responders (fireman and police), one Eagle Scout and two teachers who progressed through the process to be made State VFW Teacher Award recipients.
Both groups were also quite active with charitable events during the COVID year. For instance, both VFW and American Legion members chose to help fund the acquisition of flat screens for the LaSalle Veterans Home so that residents there could also keep in contact with their loved ones during the COVID crisis.
The American Legion was unable to continue its tradition of hosting a monthly BINGO game at the Lovell VA Hospital in Lake County, so instead they voted to send $300 per month to the veterans so they could purchase items like snacks from the canteen.
The American Legion did manage to hold their traditional golf outing at the Mt. Prospect Golf Course which exclusively benefits TLS Veterans of Crystal Lake. TLS is a nonprofit exclusively devoted to supporting homeless veterans. It would have been easy to cancel this event as the virus was still running high but bravely and in the open air, 72 golfers attended the event and were given a unique face mask for the day. No meal was served in the clubhouse, however. Thanks to the event, the TLS Veterans group was presented with a check for $7,752.56.
The Legion and VFW also continued to hold “Wake Ceremonies” for deceased members, but we had to make adjustments. We could not, of course, meet at the funeral home as we normally would, but instead provided a very well received (by the families) presence at the cemetery where up to 20 uniformed veterans from both the American Legion and VFW lined the roadway (properly distanced and masked) to come to attention, salute, play TAPS and pay final respect to our comrade as the hearse paused on the way to the gravesite. we attended approximately eight of these ceremonies during the COVID pandemic.
In November Veterans Day was marked with a unique ceremony at Village Hall which was televised with the help of the Mount Prospect TV personnel.
The virtual ceremony contained the same ingredients as it had in years past, but it was necessary to pre-record parts of the ceremony which could not be done in person due to the pandemic. Those that were pre-recorded were the 21-gun salute, The National Anthem music, keynote speaker address, TAPS played by Prospect High band member and greetings and songs from schoolchildren. Live portions of the program included: beginning and ending prayers, patriotic songs played and sung live, and the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance. All segments – both live and recorded — were expertly melded together for the ceremony by Steve Martini and Howard Kleinstein of MPTV. It is estimated that thousands of students watched the ceremony live or viewed it via YouTube later that day.
The local VFW and American Legion Post leadership had also been planning to host an inaugural Thanksgiving meal for sailors from the Great Lakes Training Center, but that did not happen in 2020, due to the pandemic.
Early in 2021 both the VFW and the American Legion moved their meetings from the Arlington Heights Post 208 to the VFW’s original home at the Mount Prospect Moose Lodge 660 on Main Street. The VFW constructed it with volunteer labor and had met there from 1950 until 1983 when they could no longer afford to maintain it and sold it to Moose Lodge 660.
During the pandemic, VFW representatives met with Moose Lodge representatives and worked out an agreement for the Post to once again hold their meetings back at their former home. American Legion Post 525 did the same.
In early 2021, many members were able to get their Pfizer COVID shots at Hines VA Hospital. Service officer Dutch DeGroot sent out the information as soon as it was available. Nevertheless, their meetings still practiced social distancing and masks.
We also began planning for 2021 events like the annual Mount Prospect Veterans picnic in August; an outing up to Milwaukee for a Cubs game; their annual Christmas Dinner; and an inaugural effort to host Naval training boots for a Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner. We hope our Honor Flight will eventually take place as well. Time will tell. We are also looking to resume our various state and national conventions.
As the Covid crisis eases, we are and must be still on our guard. In April 2021, we held an open house with the Lions, Moose and American Legion and VFW Posts. It was attended by many in the community with their children (they loved the balloons). A member of both Posts, VFW Post 1337 Junior Vice Commander Tony Cuellar even brought down an armored vehicle and all were interested.
For Memorial Day 2021 the usual ceremony was held – but without the parade. The Park District painted white circles in the grass to assist the 1200-strong crowd maintain social distancing. The Mt. Prospect Community Band could not attend, as they normally would have, so they were very ably replaced by a lovely soloist, Debbie Schreiner, from Saint Paul Lutheran Church who led the crowd in singing “God Bless America,” “America the Beautiful,” and the “Star Spangled Banner.” Major Paul Knudtson, an Illinois Veteran, gave a moving speech. After the ceremony, a luncheon was held at the Moose Hall for members of both organizations.
VFW Post 1337 and American Legion Post 525 are known for being some of the most active veterans organizations in the area – no matter the challenges — because Mount Prospect veterans are proud of their community. Incidentally, it bears noting that John “Dutch” DeGroot was nominated for VFW Member of the Year in 2021 and Les Durov will become the VFW State Safety Director as of July 1, 2021.