How many Americans have been killed in war since the United States was founded?
The Civil War was the deadliest war this country has seen to date, with just under 500,000 fatalities, according to pbs.org, which last updated its figures in 2019. World War II saw the second greatest number of deaths, with about 405,000, and the third most grave was World War 1, which saw about 117,000 lose their lives.
The total of Americans killed in wars since the Revolutionary War, the PBS report said, is more than 1.1 million.
Those sobering statistics are the reason veterans organizations across the nation hold Memorial Day ceremonies honoring those who served and paid the ultimate price.
Locally, Park Ridge puts on the biggest Memorial Day parade in the area, with Morton Grove and Lincolnwood holding smaller ones. Niles, Norridge and Skokie mark the day with ceremonies.
Lincolnwood
The Lincolnwood parade will start at 10:20 a.m. on Monday, May 27th, at Pratt and Cicero Avenues, then head east on Pratt Avenue to Keeler Avenue, north to Morse
Avenue, and ending at Proesel Park. A ceremony will follow in Madeline’s Garden, located in Proesel Park, 6915 Kostner Ave., Lincolnwood. The parade’s master of ceremonies will be Paul Levine.
Morton Grove
Morton Grove hosts an annual Memorial Day parade that has a hometown, neighborhood atmosphere. Veterans, Scouts and other participants gather at 1:30 p.m. at the Morton Grove American Legion Post 134, 6140 W. Dempster St., and march about three or four blocks down residential streets to the Morton Grove Public Library, where civic and veteran leaders address the crowd from the steps and wreaths are laid at the monument featuring a statue of a World War 1 doughboy, or infantryman, on the library’s lawn.
Niles
Niles Memorial VFW Post 3579, Vietnam Veterans of America and the Village of Niles will be holding the annual Memorial Day Ceremony at 11:00 am at the Niles Veterans Memorial Waterfall at the southwest corner of Touhy and Milwaukee Avenues.
Milwaukee Avenue will be closed from Harts Road to Touhy Avenue from 10:30 a.m. to noon, and parking will be available at Walsh Academy, 6935 W. Touhy Avenue, and the Niles Public Works Facility, 6849 W. Touhy Avenue. Very limited parking will also be available at the waterfall parking lot just south of the plaza, but drivers must enter that lot before 10:30 a.m. It can be accessed by driving south on Milwaukee Avenue from Touhy Avenue.
Norridge
Norridge will hold a Memorial Day observance Sunday, May 26 at the Norridge Veterans Memorial, 4010 N. Olcott, Harwood Heights, with music by the U.S. Army band starting at 11:30 a.m.
Park Ridge
The Memorial Day parade will step off from South Park, Talcott and Cumberland, Park Ridge, at 10 a.m. Monday, May 27 and travel north on Cumberland, take a right on Prairie, another right on Garden, a left on Prospect and then a right on Vine to travel around Hodges Park in front of City Hall and ending on Courtland. This year, Marie Sartor Pawelek, resident centenarian and World War II veteran, will serve as grand marshal of the parade. During the war, Pawelek used her musical and vocal skills to help pioneer music therapy for veterans with PTSD, then called “shell shock.” She will be accompanied by her son Michael, a Marine veteran of the Vietnam War.
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Skokie
Skokie will hold a Memorial Day observance at 11 a.m. Monday, May 27 on the Village Green, 5155 Oakton St. (between Skokie Village Hall and the Skokie Public Library). The observance is coordinated by the Skokie Fire Department with participation of local veterans posts, Scouts, and the Skokie Fire and Police Honor Guards. The ceremony will include remarks from Mayor Van Dusen and performance of the national anthem, taps and a rifle salute.