By Julie Rossman
A capacity crowd that included nearly 170 World War II Veterans came to see the Traveling WWII Memorial exhibited during ceremonies held at the Wisconsin Veterans Home in Union Grove on Sunday.
The model is on lease for five years to a volunteer group, Pillars of Honor, Inc., based in Park Ridge, Ill., whose purpose is to bring the memorial model to as many WWII veterans as possible.
Pillars of Honor, Inc. President, Steven Schaefer, spoke to the crowd to open the ceremony. He explained how the group was born 3-1/2 years ago out of the Honor Flight program.
With such high demand demonstrated by veterans seeking to fly to Washington D.C. on the Honor Flight Program, “we had to do something for the men and women who couldn’t make the trip to Washington D.C.,” he explained.
The volunteer group hosts about one ceremony per month. “With each program, we are reminded how important our mission is,” he said.
Schaefer, a Vietnam veteran, told the crowd that although the WWII Memorial was the last memorial to be built in Washington D.C., he believes it is the most beautiful – and the most meaningful one.
Before the memorial model was revealed to the crowd, veterans enjoyed patriotic songs, sung by History Singer, John Atwood. Other program highlights included a presentation of colors, the national anthem, a presentation of service flags, Battlefield Monument and Taps.
Col. Jill Morgenthaler, of the U.S Army Reserve, spoke to the crowd about her experience as one of the first women to enter ROTC and to train as an equal with men. She also shared several stories of service, about heroes from WWII.
A slide show with photographs of the WWII Memorial in Washington D.C. was shown, while Jerry Skwerski, secretary of Pillars of Honor, Inc., spoke about the history of the memorial.
He concluded his talk by saying: “This is not a memorial to war but to you, our veterans.”
After the memorial was unveiled and the crowd sang “God Bless America,” WWII veterans came up to see the beautiful memorial up close.
Veterans were visibly moved throughout the ceremony. Proudly wearing their WWII veteran caps, some sang along to the songs that were so familiar. Others closed their eyes and quietly listened. Still others were moved to tears.
Pillars of Honor volunteer and Vietnam veteran, Marty Jayne, said after the ceremony that “a lot of World War II veterans will never get to D.C.”
And that’s why Jayne feels the traveling memorial is so important. He said bringing the memorial model to veterans’ homes is the group’s top priority.
“I think the veterans appreciate it,” Jayne said.
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