 The opening ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Illinois
Veteran Memorial Vigil organization will conduct a 24-hour vigil
starting at noon, and the memorial will remain open to the public
during the vigil. At 6 p.m. Saturday there will be a ceremony
remembering the 72 men from Illinois still listed as prisoners of
war or missing in action.The closing ceremony, including a
remembrance ceremony, will begin at 11:40 a.m. Sunday. The
remembrance ceremony, "To Those Who Have Served," will recognize
John H. Berg of Rockford and James L. Hunt of Villa Park, whose
names have recently been added to the memorial. The ceremony will
also honor all the 2,995 servicemen from this state who died in the
Vietnam War or are listed as missing in action, as well as all from
Illinois who served. The Troy Junior High seventh- and eighth-grade
concert choir of Shorewood will perform, and the Illinois Veteran
Memorial Vigil will provide the color guard for the occasion. The
ceremony will conclude with the retiring of the 24-hour vigil honor
guard.
The vigil and all of the ceremonies are free and open to the
public.
The
Illinois Vietnam Veterans Memorial, administered by the Illinois
Historic Preservation Agency, is located off Route 29 in
Springfield's Oak Ridge Cemetery.
[Text from
Illinois Historic
Preservation Agency file
received from the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information] |
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