Grant Park Memorial Day Ceremony Honors Fallen Soldiers
CHICAGO (CBS) — A Memorial Day ceremony in Chicago's Grant Park honored those from Illinois who served and died in the military.
The commemoration began in rainy weather, noted retired General John Borling.
"Somehow it is appropriate on Memorial Day that the skies would be a little weepy," he said.
16 wreathes were laid to honor all branches of the military, POWs, and Gold Star Families among others.
The group's Jim Frazier lost his son, Illinois Air National Guardsman Jacob Frazier, in the line of duty in Afghanistan in 2003.
Podcast
"Every day is Memorial Day for Gold Star families," he said. "But what it means to me is that as a nation, we recognize the loss."
It's the same for Donald Casey, a World War Two veteran.
"My plane was shot down over Hamburg on a bombing raid on June 18, 1944 and four of my nine-man main crew were killed," he said.
Casey and the other survivors were captured by the Germans and held as prisoners of war, Casey for 10 and a half months.
Casey says it's ok that some spend this holiday celebrating, but he and others hope they'll also take a moment to, "remember the sacrifice that was made by our soldiers and sailors and Marines."
Special tribute was paid to Cpl. Sara A. Medina. The Aurora native was a U.S. Marine Corps combat photographer who was killed during an earthquake relief mission in Nepal.
Army Private Aaron Toppen was also honored. The Frankfort man died last year in Afghanistan.
The ceremony took place at the John A. Logan Monument in Grant. The Civil War general, congressman and eventual senator from Illinois is credited with pushing to make Decoration Day, which became Memorial Day, an official holiday.
