From the start, the people behind a proposed Flossmoor Veterans’ Memorial have had two major goals: $100,000 in funding and 1,000 names to honor on Day 1.
“We’re getting close,” said Paul Braun, the former Flossmoor mayor who is leading the veterans memorial effort. “We are at least 60% of the way there for fundraising. We’re pushing hard to raise the rest of the money.”
The organization is even closer when it comes to names, having already collected the names of 900 Flossmoor area veterans who served from World War I to the present day. To push them past their 1,000 name goal, Braun and his associates are turning to young helpers from Flossmoor Girl Scout Troop 65547.
Troop leader Karen Cheung said six Scouts, all fourth graders from Western Avenue Elementary School, got started on the project in November but have months of work ahead of them as they try to earn their Honoring Our Veterans patches.
“We will work on this throughout this Scouting year, which ends in May 2023,” Cheung said. “We have names for roughly 20 local veterans. I don’t know if we’ll make it to 100, but we would sure love to try. We will have ongoing projects throughout the year to help get to 100.”
FVM Inc., the organization formed to make a veterans memorial in Flossmoor a reality, announced plans last summer following a pandemic delay to get moving on efforts for a Wall of Honor on a 9,500-square-foot parcel north of Flossmoor Road and east of train tracks near downtown Flossmoor and Flossmoor Park. Braun said the group is still negotiating for an easement with Canadian National, which owns the proposed site.
“Overall, things are going very well,” he said.
Last spring, Cheung met Kristine Condon, a former Girl Scout and secretary/treasurer for FVM. Girl Scouts in Flossmoor were part of the 1945 dedication of the village’s original World War II Honor Roll, so Scouting has long been important to that work, Condon said. When Condon learned about the Scouts’ Honoring Our Veterans patch, she offered to help them meet the criteria to learn veterans’ stories, learn about a veterans program in the community and complete a community service project.
“I put together a lesson plan, essentially, for Karen that would meet those three criteria,” Condon said. “That’s where the 100 more veterans part of this kicked in.”
In November, Condon went to a Scout meeting to talk about the original, temporary Honor Wall, the proposed permanent Wall of Honor and more. The girls received worksheets to record the names, branches, ranks, high schools and stories of Flossmoor veterans. They also received cardboard tags to complete and decorate, which will be put on a canvas replica of the village’s 1945 Honor Roll.
“Part of the Flossmoor Veterans mission statement includes a specific reference to education and programming so that there’s a civic awareness component to the work we do,” Condon said. “It’s important that we generate $100,000 to build this Wall of Honor for Flossmoor veterans, but it’s also important for this next generation of students to understand why this recognition is necessary.”
On Veterans Day, the Scouts greeted veterans and their families at Western Avenue Elementary. Cheung said they also had information about the memorial and forms for veterans to complete there. Each Girl Scout is continuing the search on their own, as well, including some dropping off personal letters to local veterans.
The stories the Girl Scouts collect also will be shared with Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a veteran who was also a Girl Scout. And at the beginning of the year, the Scouts are to meet again with FVM representatives to show off their progress.
“We are grateful for the committee of Flossmoor Veterans’ Memorial and all of the hard work they’ve done so far,” Cheung said. “Our Scouts are excited to see this project happen, and already asked if they could be at the groundbreaking.”
The Flossmoor Veterans’ Memorial has a website set up at flossmoorvets.square.site to document progress, highlight upcoming events and raise more funds. Braun said they will keep moving forward trying to reach that 1,000-name milestone, which he called “just a nice round number” to get things started.
“Looking for names will never end, and it will never be complete,” Condon added. “But the idea that we may have uncovered names of 1,000 people who served this community from World War I to people who have just enlisted in the military in the past few months, it’s just a remarkable testament to the power of this community.”
Bill Jones is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
