Chicago area veterans share stories, breakfast with local students
ELMHURST, Ill. (CBS) – Veterans Day came early for a group of vets in Elmhurst.
A retirement community decided to honor them with help from a class of high school students. As CBS 2's Noel Brennan showed, it all started with a conversation over breakfast.
While 77 years separated a veteran from a student, inside the Roosevelt at Salt Creek Retirement Community in Elmhurst, barriers broke down over breakfast.
One veteran, Andy Dziagwa, shared a story with the students.
"And all of a sudden, Clark hollers, 'Grenade!'" he said. "He reached down, picked up, and flung it back down."
Dziagwa, 95, lives with memories and scars from 10 months in Korea.
"He turned me around," he said. "He says, 'Run! You're hit! I didn't realize it."
His old stories are brand new to 18-year-old Luke Boskovic.
"It seems like a whole different reality to me," Boskovic said.
In celebration of Veterans Day, the retirement community invited students to help honor its 25 veteran residents.
"It brings me back to the days when I was young and good looking," Dziagwa said, laughing. "Like they are."
The vets shared, and the students listened and learned and showed their gratitude.
Each of the veterans received a special pin, but the greater honor may have been the conversation at every table.
"Young gentlemen here that are learning a lot about our country," Dziagwa said.
"Keeping their stories alive," said Boskovic. "I think that's very important to pass on to further generations."
There may be decades between them, but the conversation did more than close the gap between generations. It connected them.
"Connecting with him, I think, was a really unique experience," said Boskovic.