Oak Park in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Gold Star Men of the World War

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Photographed by Sean Flynn

1. Gold Star Men of the World War Marker

Inscription.
N.B. Anagnostopulos, C.A. Corps • Edwards H. Berry, 6th F.A. • Walter H. Chandler, 1st Cav. • Sydney L. Crowley, 28th Inf. • John Knowlton Fisk, Princess Pats. • Harry M. Helmick, 123d F.A. • Harmon P. Hook, Aviation Corps • Louis F. Katzel, 124th Inf. • Clinton D. Kendall, 108th San. Tr. • James H. Kendall, 108th San. Tr. • Baldwin Rech, 128th Inf. • George W. Sackett, 11th Inf. • George E. Shipley, 4th Inf. • Harry W. Vasey, 56th Inf.

Erected 1921 by Women's Auxiliary of the American Legion.

Topics. This memorial is listed in this topic list: War, World I.

Location. 41° 54.155′ N, 87° 47.991′ W. Memorial is in Oak Park, Illinois, in Cook County. It can be reached from Division Street west of Woodbine Avenue, on the right when traveling west. The marker is in the west central part of Field Park, next to the walkway opposite the Field Park Recreation Center, and not far from the tree that overlooks the baseball field. Mann Elementary School is adjacent to Field Park. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 935 Woodbine Avenue, Oak Park IL 60302, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in Greater Chicago.

It is also in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Eugene Field Park (a few steps from this marker); Field Park Native Plants (within shouting distance

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of this marker); Mann Elementary (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Ginkgo Biloba-Maidenhair Tree (approx. 0.2 miles away); Lindberg Park (approx. ¼ mile away); Warren Cooney (approx. 0.3 miles away); a different marker also named Lindberg Park (approx. 0.3 miles away); Ernest Hemingway Boyhood Home (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Oak Park.

More about this memorial. This marker is one of five similar monuments dedicated to "Gold Star Men of the World War" that can be found in neighborhood parks in Oak Park. The memorials were dedicated on November 11, 1921, along with individual elm trees that were planted for each of the men listed. When this memorial was dedicated, the park was known as Woodbine Playground.

Regarding Gold Star Men of the World War. Two of the men included on this plaque are not included among Oak Park's war dead on the Peace Triumphant statue, located in the center of the village in Scoville Park: brothers Clinton D. and James H. Kendall. Both brothers were living in Lombard, Illinois, when they

Photographed by Sean Flynn

2. Gold Star Men of the World War Marker

Mann School is located in the background.

enlisted in 1917, and they both joined the 108th Sanitary Train. A 1921 article in the Oak Leaves newspaper said that the Kendalls' parents had recently moved to Oak Park. According to 1922 article in the Urbana (Ill.) Daily Courier about University of Illinois graduates and students who died in World War I, Clinton was gassed while on ambulence service in October 1917, and died at sea on March 11, 1919, at age 22, while being transported back to the United States from France. The paper wrote that James died in Naperville, Illinois, on July 21, 1919 (a month shy of his 27th birthday) after contracting tuberculosis while stationed in Chicago. The two brothers share a memorial at Oakridge-Glen Oak Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.

Additional keywords. oak park wwi memorial

Credits. This page was last revised on February 28, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 14, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 210 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 14, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.