The Golf Mill Shopping Center hosted an armed services recruiting drive last weekend to mark Armed Forces Day.
On Saturday, May 16, the mall hosted an Armed Forces Recruiting Expo with recruiting stations for various military branches. The event was also used as an occasion to honor veterans. Honor Flight Chicago representatives were in attendance and Maine Township Clerk Gary Warner presented his collection of items from his service during the 1950s. U.S Rep. Robert Dold presented Niles resident and World War II veteran Richard Vana with a copy of a congressional resolution honoring him for his service.
According to a statement from Golf Mill, the event was designed to coincide with the Armed Forces Day. The holiday was created in 1949 by then Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson. This was done to consolidate what were previously three separate holidays honoring the Army, Navy and Marines, according to the U.S. Department of Defense website.
Girl Scouts Brownie Troop 40430, a Niles troop affiliated with St. John Brebeuf Catholic School, set up a station where letters could be written to members of military serving overseas. According to Kim Quintero, the troop organizer, all the letters would be sent out through the United Service Organization. Throughout the event, the troop encouraged passing kids to write letters.
The Armed Forces Recruiting Expo also had some tables related to veterans. Warner told the Pioneer Press, between 1952-1954, he served in the U.S. Army as part of the 49th A.A.A Gun Battalion. The Army had several anti-aircraft gun sites throughout the Chicago area, including Niles. The Niles battery was located in what is now a portion of Maryhill Cemetery.
Before soldiers arrived, it was the Dempster Golf Course, Warner said. And when they left, the cemetery took it over.
Warner explained that he would maintain equipment at four sites – the Niles site, as well as sites in Skokie, Schiller Park and at Chicago’s Montrose Beach.
For the Armed Forces Expo, he brought photographs, military passes and some of his old military equipment, such as an Army-issued whistle, helmets and a shovel for digging foxholes.
Honor Flight Chicago, the local branch of a national organization that works to fly World War II veterans to visit military memorials in Washington D.C. According to Ron Wolflick, a volunteer for the organization, the trip is completely free to veterans.
There are 140 Honor Flight organization hubs in the country and Chicago is the biggest, Wolflick explained. Veterans are flown to Washington, D.C., every month, April through October.
The Honor Flight representatives attended the expo in an effort to raise money and potentially reach out to area veterans.
Wolflick said he was especially hoping to sign up Richard Vana, who served with the Marines in the Pacific theater. In 1945, Vana was among the Marines who fought the Battle of Okinawa as part of the 4th Regiment of the 6th Division. The battle was one of the bloodiest in the Pacific theater.
Vana said he has especially vivid memories of the fight to capture Sugar Loaf Hill, a small mound that American and Japanese forces fought over for 12 days. While American forces ultimately won, the clash came at a steep price.
“There were lots of dead bodies lying atop of that hill,” Vana recalled. “You couldn’t walk around without stepping on bodies.”
Later, on June 1, his unit came under fire, and one of the foxholes was directly hit. Vana and fellow Marine Stuart Upchurch risked their own lives to rescue the marine wounded by the mortar, taking him to a safer position and keeping him alive until help arrived.
Vana said he was grateful that he made it through the war.
“I never stopped being thankful, humbly grateful for being brought back,” he said. “Without any kidding, I should’ve been dead at least 10 times.”
On April 14, 2015. Dold introduced a resolution that recognized Vana’s heroism. The resolution recounted the incident and touted it as a proud of example of the Marines Corps’ ideals.
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“Without the heroic actions of Corporal Vana and PFC Upchurch the wounded marine surely would have died from his wounds,” the resolution stated. “Their life-saving action upheld the motto of the Marine Corps. The unwavering courage and gallantry Corporal Vana deserves the utmost respect and gratitude. These actions reflect great credit upon Corporal Vana, his unit, the U.S Marine Corps, the U.S. Navy, and the United States of America.”
Dold used the Armed Forces Expo to officially present Vana and his family with a copy of the resolution. Before reading the resolution aloud, he said that he was honored to be able to ensure that Vana was recognized on the congressional record. He also emphasized that veterans of past and current wars all deserve respect.
“There is isn’t a day the goes by that we shouldn’t thank the men in uniform,” said Dold.
Upon receiving the resolution, Vana said, while he was grateful, he felt that he didn’t do anything particularly extraordinary.
“I accept this award for all the members of our unit,” he said. “Heroism is really just what we do because of our training, a response to a situation.”
It was something that Vana later reiterated to the Niles Herald-Spectator.
“I’m very humbled,” he said. “There are so many great people, so many stories that didn’t get told.”
Igor Studenkov is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.