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player ready...Pillars of Honor, based in Des Plaines, will feature its Traveling World War II Memorial model at the Niles Senior Center on Sept. 19 at 1 p.m.
The 8-foot-by-8-foot, 800 pound model is a version of the original National World War II memorial designed by Austrian-American architect Friedrich St. Florian whose design won against 400 other entries in a 1997 contest. The memorial is based in Washington, D.C., but due to a growing list of war veterans unable to travel, the traveling model was designed to bring the experience to them.
“We wanted to give a day of honor to WWII vets,” Treasurer and Office Manager Noreen Lake said. “We take it and travel for programs, especially to those that can’t travel to Washington, D.C. The no travel list was getting longer so we saw a growing need that we could support.”
Since being incorporated in April 2010, Pillars of Honor has traveled to five different states, averaging a total of nearly 6,000 miles, Lake said. The organization first began hosting programs in libraries until organizations and businesses like the Niles Senior Center reached out and asked for a program at its facility.
Lake said programs usually consist of a presentation of colors, music from the era, a military veteran speaker and more, including an insert in the program book honoring local WWII vets “who registered or whose families told us before the event,” Lake said. “We just need their name and branch of service.”
Lake said guests are allowed to take photos and the program lasts around 90 minutes.
Although the volunteers “do not take a profit” from these events, Lake said all of them take away the gratitude that they helped a war veteran in some way.
“We have some of these gentlemen and ladies come up to us afterward with a tear in their eye and say ‘Nobody ever thanked us before,’ and ‘This was wonderful,'” she said. “Everything was worth it when you hear that; it just makes it all worth the while. We’re doing it for the love of the vets.”
Lindsey Compton is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.