Brookfield in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Veterans Memorial Park
Photographed by Sean Flynn, November 20, 2023
1. Veterans Memorial Park
Inscription.
Veterans Memorial Park. . [The park includes 10 stones with bronze tablets, which were relocated from Veterans Memorial Circle in 2022. Eight of the markers are dedicated to the veterans of specific wars: The Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Iraq Wars and the Afghan War. The Afghan War marker includes the name of a Brookfield native who died in combat there: Joshua Harris. A ninth tablet has this inscription:] ,
Greater love hath no man , than he lay down , his life for another , . , [The tenth marker was moved from Brookfield's Veterans Memorial Circle, about ⅓ of a mile northwest of here, in 2022. It was originally dedicated at that circle in 1973.] ,
To these valiant men, we dedicate , the Brookfield Veterans Memorial Circle , this day July 1, 1973 , , . World War I , Feely, Edward J. . Koenis, William . Lacky, Phillip , , Korean Conflict , Gapinski, Robert C. . Kilroy, Frank R. . Meyer, Frank J. Jr. . Novak, Jerry O. , , Viet Nam Conflict , Davidenko, David . Jegman, Anton III . Peters, Michael . Schmidt, Ronald . Zach, Wayne , , World War II , Bellis, Richard D. . Bishop, Robert . Bohaty, George D. . Brothers, George H. . Brunson, Joseph E. . Burns, Ralph . Michael Butkovich . Cahill, William . Carlsen, Harry A. . Castle, Mark . Cinquemani, Roy . Fibranz, Charles . Forbes, Ross E. . Gross, William T. . Hescher, James . Hodonsky, Stanley . Horky, Joseph . Hurley, Irvin . Hutters, Franklin M. . Hutton, Robert F. . Jablonski, Walter J. . Jacobson, Alfred F. . Karner, Eugene K. . Kozohorsky, John Jr. . Krieger, Rudolph . Laglerdahl, Ture . Loeffler, Harold J. . Masek, Warren J. . Milton, James . Morton, Richard F. . Nielson, David . Nelson, C. Richard . Nelson, Robert A. . Nerad, Louis . Noland, Walter . Oates, Robert R. . Olson, Alvin R. . Panenka, Arnold . Peterson, Robert . Price, David G. . Rogers, Richard G. . Rune, Phillip G. . Schell, Robert . Schrichram, John . Schlueter, Tom R. . Silver, Rueben . Skoda, George F. . Spencer, William F. . Standt, Charles . Stewart, William F. . Tlapa, Laddie . Walker, Calvin S.
[The park includes 10 stones with bronze tablets, which were relocated from Veterans Memorial Circle in 2022. Eight of the markers are dedicated to the veterans of specific wars: The Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Iraq Wars and the Afghan War. The Afghan War marker includes the name of a Brookfield native who died in combat there: Joshua Harris. A ninth tablet has this inscription:]
Greater love hath no man
than he lay down
his life for another
[The tenth marker was moved from Brookfield's Veterans Memorial Circle, about ⅓ of a mile northwest of here, in 2022. It was originally dedicated at that circle in 1973.]
To these valiant men, we dedicate
the Brookfield Veterans Memorial Circle
this day July 1, 1973
World War I
Feely, Edward J. Koenis, William Lacky, Phillip
Korean Conflict
Gapinski, Robert C. Kilroy, Frank R. Meyer, Frank J. Jr. Novak, Jerry O.
Viet Nam Conflict
Davidenko, David Jegman, Anton III Peters, Michael Schmidt, Ronald Zach, Wayne
World War II
Bellis, Richard D. Bishop, Robert Bohaty,
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George D. Brothers, George H. Brunson, Joseph E. Burns, Ralph Michael Butkovich Cahill, William Carlsen, Harry A. Castle, Mark Cinquemani, Roy Fibranz, Charles Forbes, Ross E. Gross, William T. Hescher, James Hodonsky, Stanley Horky, Joseph Hurley, Irvin Hutters, Franklin M. Hutton, Robert F. Jablonski, Walter J. Jacobson, Alfred F. Karner, Eugene K. Kozohorsky, John Jr. Krieger, Rudolph Laglerdahl, Ture Loeffler, Harold J. Masek, Warren J. Milton, James Morton, Richard F. Nielson, David Nelson, C. Richard Nelson, Robert A. Nerad, Louis Noland, Walter Oates, Robert R. Olson, Alvin R. Panenka, Arnold Peterson, Robert Price, David G. Rogers, Richard G. Rune, Phillip G. Schell, Robert Schrichram, John Schlueter, Tom R. Silver, Rueben Skoda, George F. Spencer, William F. Standt, Charles Stewart, William F. Tlapa, Laddie Walker, Calvin S.
87° 50.799′ W. Memorial is in Brookfield, Illinois, in Cook County. It is at the intersection of Grand Boulevard and Sunnyside Avenue, on the right when traveling north on Grand Boulevard. The triangular park is at the intersection of Grand Boulevard, Sunnyside Avenue and Grant Avenue. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 3649 Grand Boulevard, Brookfield IL 60513, 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.
The back of the park sign includes emblems for the branches of the military and dedication tablets for the donation of the land the funding of its development.
More about this memorial. Veterans Memorial Park, formerly a vacant lot, was dedicated by the village in the early 2000s but sat mostly unused until the 2020s, when the village moved most of the monuments to this park as part of a redesign of Veterans Memorial Circle, ⅓ of a mile northwest of here, where they had previously stood.
The rear of the park's sign features several plaques: 5 emblems for the branches of the U.S. Armed Services, one about the donation of the land by the William T. Gross Memorial Post #99 of the Amvets and the Women's Auxiliary, and another related to the park's partial funding by the Brookfield American Legion (Edward Feely Post No. 190) and the Women's Auxiliary. Right in front of those plaques is a Fallen Soldier Statue, as well as set of flagpoles for the village of Brookfield, the state of Illinois, and the United States.
Down a pathway from this sign are 10
Photographed by Sean Flynn, November 20, 2023
4. Memorial to Brookfield's War Dead
This marker, dedicated in 1973 at Brookfield's Veterans Memorial Circle about ⅓ of a mile northwest and moved here when the circle was redesigned in 2021, features the names of Brookfield's war dead from World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
individual memorials dedicated to specific conflicts, most of which were moved to this park from their original location at Veterans Memorial Circle, about ⅓ of a mile northwest of here. One marker, dedicated at that circle in 1973, lists Brookfield's war dead from World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
The bronze tablet on the World War II memorial is upturned in its upper right corner; it was damaged in 2022 at its former site at the Veterans Memorial Circle when a drunken driver drove his Dodge Ram pickup into it.
Regarding Veterans Memorial Park. In 2015 the Brookfield VFW post was officially rededicated in honor of Joshua Harris, a Brookfield native who died in Afghanistan in 2008 at age 21, and whose name is chiseled into this park's memorial to Afghan War veterans. Harris joined the National Guard while a high school student at Walther Lutheran Academy in nearby Melrose Park, Illinois. He had been deployed in Afghanistan for three weeks when he and three other soldiers were killed by an improvised explosive device on September 17, 2008.
Pvt. Ladislau "Laddie" Tlapa, listed among the World
Photographed by Sean Flynn, November 20, 2023
5. Veterans Memorial Park
The walkway from the park sign features 10 markers, several of which were relocated from Brookfield's Veterans Memorial Circle about ⅓ of a mile northwest of here.
War II dead, fell in battle on his 21st birthday: June 6, 1944. A native of neighboring Lyons, Illinois, Tlapa was a member of the 76th Infantry Division who volunteered as a paratrooper and would make his first combat jump on D-Day. At 1:45 a.m. on June 6, Tlapa parachuted into the town of Sainte-Mθre-Ιglise with the 505th Parachute Infantry of the 82nd Airborn Division. He was shot dead by German troops as he floated down over the church square, becoming one of America's first D-Day casualties. His body was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois, in January 1949.
Credits. This page was last revised on July 23, 2024. It was originally submitted on November 24, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 245 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on November 24, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
