The Village of Glenview is recognizing 10 military servicemen with ties to the village as Hometown Heroes this month.
The program, now in its third year, is a partnership between the village and Joseph M. Sesterhenn American Legion Post 166 that honors current and past Glenview residents who have served in the military.
Banners recognizing this year’s heroes hang along Glenview Road west of Waukegan Road in downtown, and all 10 individuals were celebrated during a May 5 meeting of the Glenview Village Board.
Thirty veterans have now been honored by the village through this program.
“Glenview’s connection to military service runs deep, shaped in many ways by the legacy of Naval Air Station Glenview,” Village President Michael Jenny said during the May 5 ceremony at Village Hall.
“That chapter may have closed, but the connection did not. If anything, it makes our responsibility even clearer: to remember, to recognize and to give thanks for those who have served, are serving or who gave their lives in service to our country.”
Stephen Gerth, commander of American Legion Post 166, said the Hometown Heroes program also helps to keep the stories of the community’s veterans alive.
“Their stories embody courage, duty and a commitment to something far greater than themselves,” he noted.
This year’s Hometown Heroes represent service from World War II through conflicts in Iraq. They are:
• John Beaulieu, U.S. Army, a World War II B-29 navigator and bombardier. After the war, he embarked on a career in banking and worked at Glenview State Bank for 18 years, 15 of them as president, the village said. He also served as a commissioner of the Glenview Appearance Commission, was past president of Glenview Chamber of Commerce, and was a member of the Glenview Rotary Club. Beaulieu died in 2012.
• Daniel Behnke, U.S. Army, a counterintelligence agent from 1954 to 1956. A social worker after the war, Behnke served clients at state and Cook County agencies and, after retirement, opened a used book store in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, according to the village. He lived in Glenview from 1970 until his death in 2020.
• Christopher Brennan, a U.S. Air Force pilot and commander serving in the Air Force Reserve and Illinois National Guard from 1994 to 2020. His deployments included Kosovo and conflicts in the Middle East, the village said. A Glenview native, Brennan is currently a captain for United Airlines.
• Russell Dempsey, a U.S. Navy air crewman at Naval Air Station Glenview. He entered the Naval Air Reserve in 1970 and served until 1994. Dempsey grew up in Glenview and, in 1983, returned with his family to the village, where he still lives today.
• James Douglas Sr., a U.S. Army Air Corps communications specialist during World War II who supported missions in the Pacific, including the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the village said. Douglas was a 60-year member of American Legion Post 166 and served as grand marshal of Glenview’s Memorial Day Parade in 2018. He lived in Glenview from 1960 until his death in 2020.
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• John Olson, a U.S. Army automotive electrical specialist who served in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II, the village said. He was a resident of Glenview from 1955 until his death in 2000.
• James Riley, a sergeant in the U.S. Army who served during World War II and again during the Korean War, according to the village. After his military service, he had a long career at Brookfield Zoo as superintendent of plant engineering, his obituary noted. Riley and his family moved to Glenview in 1957, where he lived until his death in 2015.
• James Rushmeyer, a chief petty officer with the U.S. Navy, who served at Naval Air Station Glenview between 1970 and 1994, 21 of those years in active reserve, the village said. Rushmeyer is a Glenview native who has lived in the village for more than 70 years and was a member of the first graduating class of Glenbrook South High School, according to the village.
• Patrick Ryan, a U.S. Marine Corps sharpshooter who served from 1966 to 1968. After living and working overseas for 13 years as an engineer, Ryan and his family moved to Glenview in 1987, where he continues to reside.
• John Weber Jr., a U.S. Marine Corps sergeant during World War II who was involved in Pacific Theatre combat, the village said. He lived in Glenview from 1962 until his death in 1992. His daughter Lisa Goodwin works as deputy clerk for the village of Glenview.
According to village officials, members of the community are invited to nominate a Hometown Hero for next year’s class.
More information can be found at glenview.il.us/hometown-heroes.