Whether laying wreaths, flying American flags or donning red poppies, Chicagoans unite over Memorial Day weekend to honor veterans who served in the U.S. military.
Veterans
Two local WWII veterans associated with a deadly ship explosion off the coast of Japan met in person for the very first time last week in Evanston. Myron Petrakis is just shy of his 102nd birthday; Marvin Elman is 97.
Beginning in October 2020, LaSalle Veterans Home experienced a COVID-19 outbreak that sickened nearly 200 people. A whopping 85% of residents and 35% of staff tested positive for the virus, which eventually killed three dozen residents.
Since January 2020, the numbers of homeless veterans have fallen 11% and have gone down 55% over the past 13 years, according to a government count. That's in sharp contrast with the general homeless population.
Photographer Thomas Sanders has made it his life’s mission to share the stories of veterans across the country. His work is currently on display in “American Heroes: Portraits of Service.”
Nearly 4,800 pilots are being investigated by the Federal Aviation Authority for potentially concealing major health issues that could have them grounded. The FAA has already ordered 60 pilots who “posed a clear danger to aviation safety” to stop flying immediately.
Veteran Art Movement is partnering with UIC and three art institutions to highlight work created by artists impacted by war. Veterans from across the country are gathering to experience that art and share stories from their time in the service.
The law, which Biden described as long overdue, caps a years-long battle to ensure treatment for chronic illnesses that veterans have blamed on burn pits, which were used to dispose of chemicals, tires, plastics, medical equipment and human waste on military bases. Estimates of affected troops run to 3.5 million.
The Honoring Our PACT Act will make it so veterans who served in certain areas over a period from the ‘90s on, and who have conditions like certain cancers, will get the presumption it’s related to their service and burn pit exposure.
The Senate approved the bill by a vote of 86-11. It now goes to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law. Biden described the legislation as the biggest expansion of benefits for service-connected health issues in 30 years and the largest single bill ever to address exposure to burn pits.
As several dozen D-Day veterans — now all in their 90s — set foot on the sands that claimed so many colleagues, they are thankful for the gratitude and friendliness of the French toward those who landed here on June 6, 1944.
Since 2010, more than 65,000 veterans have died by suicide – that is more than the total number of deaths from combat during the Vietnam War and the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.
Thirty-six residents of the LaSalle Veterans’ Home died in November 2020 as part of a COVID-19 outbreak. A new report from the state’s auditor general finds that IDPH neglected to respond to the outbreak at the state-run facility until for many, it was too late.
A few dozen survivors of Pearl Harbor are expected to gather Tuesday at the site of the Japanese bombing to remember those killed in the attack that launched the U.S. into World War II. They will observe a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m., the same minute the attack began decades ago.
Located about 35 miles north of downtown Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan, North Chicago houses Naval Station Great Lakes, home of the Navy’s only boot camp.
President Joe Biden saluted the nation’s military veterans as “the spine of America” on Thursday as he marked his first Veterans Day as president in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
