Photo by Aidan McGuire
By Aidan McGuire, Multimedia Editor
Early Saturday morning, the national anthem cut through the warm September air as 220 American flags fluttered in the breeze on the south side of the Moraine Valley campus.
Hundreds of community members, faculty and students gathered around the parking lot near the M building to witness the opening ceremony for The Field of Honor, a display to recognize those who served in the U.S. military. Each flag has a name attached to it representing the individual it is honoring.
“Each flag serves as a reminder of those who answered freedom’s call,” veteran and Palos Hills resident Ronald Latwis said during the opening ceremony. “Each flag is also a reminder that freedom’s call is demanding, it comes too often, it asks much of those who answer and at times it demands everything from those who heed the call.”
Each flag is also a reminder that freedom’s call is demanding, it comes too often and it asks much of those who answer and at times it demands everything from those who heed the call.”
Veteran and Palos Hills resident Ronald Latwis
The flags will be on display until the end of the day Tuesday. The display, hosted by local nonprofit organizations in conjunction with the Colonial Flag Foundation, is open for community members and students to walk through. More than 200 local organizations and families sponsored flags.
The event kicked off at 10 a.m on Saturday with speeches from various individuals, including Palos Hills Mayor Gerald Bennett and Lt. Col. Dale Carver.
“I am grateful for the presence of members of our military services who are participating with us today,” Carver said.
Latwis led a missing man table ceremony, which honored the 81,900 individuals who are classified as prisoners of war or missing in action. Each item on the table symbolized something specific. A single red rose represented bloodshed, a white table cloth symbolized purity, and so on.
The opening ceremony concluded with a reading of every name being represented on the field of honor. According to Mayor Bennett, about 275 people were in attendance.
The event has already reached many members of the community, and the display is positioned in a way that people both on campus and driving down 111th Street can see it.
Bennett could be found throughout the day greeting community members and assisting with the event.
“It was even better than what we expected,” he said. “I’m so glad we approached the college initially to hold the event here because I thought it would be perfect with the open field where people can see the flags from the street and then to have a ceremony here on campus with tons of parking made it really convenient.
“I thought it was just very moving and touching. I had the opportunity to sit and watch the audience and a lot of people were in tears.”
Mark Brachman, Peter Donahue, Michael Lebarre, Ronald Latwis, and Donna O’Connell (From left to right)
I thought it was just very moving and touching. I had the opportunity to sit and watch the audience and a lot of people were in tears.
Palos Hills Mayor Gerald Bennett
The community echoed these feelings with many people taking time after the ceremony to walk the aisles of flags placed in the field. “I think it brings the people together in such a nice way and it’s just touching,” Linda King said. “It’s amazing how many flags they put up. I didn’t even expect this many flags!”
Many families were there honoring a member of their family, along with several veterans who were also in attendance. Representatives from a Boy Scout troop, the Kiwanis Club, Sertoma Club, and the Lions Club were also present.
Event planners Michael Lebarre and Palos Hills Alderman Donna O’Connell expressed their gratitude for the support that the community, guest speakers and Moraine Valley offered for this project.
“Events like this don’t just happen,” said O’Connell as she congratulated Lebarre on a successful event. “It takes a lot of dedication and hard-working individuals guided by the vision of one person and that one person is Mike Lebarre.”
Photos by Aidan McGuire
