Here’s How To Celebrate Veterans Day Around Chicago On Wednesday

CHICAGO — Bridgeport’s VFW Post 5079 will open Wednesday with an 8:30 a.m. Veterans Day Mass at St. Pius V Catholic Church in Pilsen, followed by drinks and a luncheon at their post at 3200 S. May St. Nicole Tirado, a bartender at Post 5079 and daughter of veterans, will be pouring drinks. Everyone is welcome, she said. “I love to see and celebrate my mom and dad, and also celebrate everybody who also served for us,” Tirado said. Across Chicago, home to nearly 61,000 former servicemen and -women, veterans organizations will hold events that each carry a different meaning and purpose. Some will serve as chances to catch up over food and drinks or solemnly honor traditions stretching back to World War I. Others will highlight history’s overlooked soldiers or support new generations of veterans. In Bronzeville, Sherry Williams, president of Illinois Tent #103 of the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, will lead a commemoration for the Bronzeville Historical Society, 4455 S. King Drive, as part of the opening of its exhibit, “Liberty or Death,” honoring “the sacrifices made by ancestors of Chicago residents who served in the Civil War,” Williams said. The exhibit opens at noon. Meanwhile, George L. Giles American Legion Post #87 in Washington Park will start their Veterans Day at the Victory Monument, 3500 S. Martin Luther King Drive, in Bronzeville. They’ve been going there at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month for nearly a century now. Afterward, they will head to their post at 5745 S. State St. for a roast, fried chicken and drinks at the bar, which dates back to 1942. For Commander Ashley Shine, an Army veteran, Veterans Day is a celebration that has become more enjoyable with time. “A lot of the men and women at the post like Veterans Day more than they used to. During the Vietnam era, we didn’t draw a lot of attention to it. It was unpopular. But it’s a lot better now,” Shine said. Other groups will hold smaller gatherings. In Clearing, American Legion Post 600 is “just doing business as usual,” said their commander, meaning “coffee and cookies.” American Legion Post 541 will have a simple ceremony 11 a.m. at Monument Park, 6679 N. Avondale Ave., in Edison Park, wearing their uniforms, a tradition going on 75 years, said Bob Fuggiti, former post commander and Vietnam veteran. In Hegewisch, Fred Schweitzer American Legion Post #272 will join South Shore Post #388 at the Tank Memorial for a small get-together. At Logan Square-Avondale VFW #2978, 3009 N. Kedzie Ave., a table will be set aside and a toast will be made for veterans who are missing or have died, Jim Hanrahan, a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, said. The Logan Square-Avondale post will be open 8 p.m.-midnight Wednesday. Hanrahan emphasizes that all neighbors are welcome to join. “We’re here for the community, regardless of race, creed, color,” he said. “We’re a diverse neighborhood, and we’re a diverse VFW.” Most VFWs and American Legion posts are aging, with declining membership. Almost all of their World War II vets have died, while remaining Korean War members are increasingly unable to attend events. “Even the Vietnam guys are up there,” Hanrahan said. He considers his post relatively young: “full of Desert Storm and post-9/11 guys.” But, he said, “even them guys are in their 40s and 50s.” The story is quite different at SSG Jason Vazquez American Legion #939. It’s the Chicago area’s newest American Legion — and the first one established in over a decade in 2020. One of the country’s fastest-growing posts, it’s made up primarily of Latino post-9/11 veterans. On Wednesday, the legion will host a fundraiser at On the Rocks, 2104 N. Harlem Ave., in suburban Elmwood Park. “We’ll be honoring the Gold Star family of Marine Lance Corporal Nickolas A. Daniels, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2011,” said #939 Commander Marcos Torres. The public is encouraged to attend the event, which will include food, music, cigars and a traditional Marine Corps birthday cake-cutting ceremony. View this post on Instagram The Veterans Day celebration will also help launch the Chicago Latino Military Heritage Initiative, an effort by the post that Torres described as “dedicated to promoting, preserving and educating the public about the contributions of Latinos who have served in the United States Armed Forces.” No matter where or how each of Chicago’s veterans groups are honoring Veterans Day, there is a shared sense of camaraderie and purpose: to support and serve each other and the communities around them. ______________________________________________________________________ Support Local News! 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