Along the banks of the Illinois River in Marseilles, Illinois, a privately funded memorial contains the names of American service members who died as a result of conflicts in the Middle East. The Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial was originally dedicated in 2004, with additional names being added as the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts continued. Today, the wall contains over 7000 names. This effort was the first time that a major war memorial in the United States was started while the conflict was still ongoing.

    Another distinctive thing about the Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial is that it is entirely privately funded. The initial construction was with donated material and labor, and the annual Illinois Motorcycle Freedom Run is a major fundraiser for the operation of the memorial.

    The Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association (CVMA) holds an annual national event at the memorial. I was privileged to attend the event in 2018. Both my wife and I had acquaintances from our military service whose names were on the wall, and we both found it moving to find those names, and to participate in a memorial ceremony. I strongly recommend veterans and patriotic citizens visit the Wall.

You can learn more about the Wall at:
middleeastconflictswall.org/
and facebook.com/MiddleEastConflictsWallMemorial/.
—Matt Heffron, RC, Hawkeye Valley



Post 1839 Burns Night at Inn of the Hills Resort and Conference Center in Kerrville, TX on the 260th Anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns. L-R: Kirk Scheel, Elton Stilwell, George Cummins Vieyra, Joe Braly, David L. Bohmfalk, Dennis Finuf

Prescott Post 1297 Presentation to Colton Williams.
L-R: Kim Abbott, Chaplain Roy Abbott, Duncan Scotland, PC Don Klein.

 

2 Feb Four Chaplain’s service, San Jose
Post 1921 Piper Bob Rydbeck