Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Fox Valley Veterans Breakfast Club and the village of Oswego have decided to postpone the appearance of the traveling Middle East Conflicts Wall of Honor in the village.
The Wall of Honor, a tribute to members of the military who have died while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, was scheduled to be on display in the atrium of Oswego Village Hall from May 22 to 31, as part of the village’s Memorial Day commemorations. The plan is now to have the wall as part of next year’s Memorial Day events.
“I personally know 25 Marines on the Wall of Honor from my last deployment,” said William Sutton of Yorkville, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Purple Heart recipient.
Sutton is part of the Oswego Honors Veterans Committee which has been meeting weekly via video conferences to monitor the public health situation in regards to the planned visit of the Wall of Honor. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan from 2007 to 2013.
“It’s a hard hit for me,” he said of the postponement. “There is no point in risking the safety of others and there is no point in not doing it big for our veterans.”
The only way to truly celebrate the lives of his comrades and veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan is to wait until next year to bring the Wall of Honor to Oswego, he said.
More Top Picks Best Photography Lighting Kits For Beginners
“I am saddened and it hurts a lot but I have to put my feelings aside for the safety of everyone else who could possibly get sick from being exposed from those who are the silent carriers,” Sutton said.
The committee’s preference is to host the Wall of Honor during a Memorial Day observance next year.
“The committee likes the idea of hosting the Wall of Honor and other events in concert with Memorial Day to honor those that gave their lives to our country, which is why the postponement was decided until next Memorial Day as opposed to a different date in 2020,” Oswego Village Administrator Dan Di Santo said.
The Wall of Honor has traveled throughout its home state of Oregon, with Oswego planned to be its first out-of-state destination.
The wall was scheduled to be part of Oswego Honors Veterans, a 10-day event in late May with various observances planned in the village, including a concert at the village’s newly-acquired property at the former Park n’ Ride site off of Orchard Road.
Sutton said despite the current pandemic, America will pull through.
“Our history as a nation has demonstrated over and over that we are strong as a whole. We can survive anything thrown at us as long as we work together. We will get through this together as a community. It starts in the community and then it will spread and help the nation and the world,” Sutton said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.