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 Conflic , 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 Conflic
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,

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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.

Erected by Village of Brookfield.

Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Government & Politics • Military • Patriots & Patriotism.

Location. 41° 49.459′ N, 87° 50.799′ W. Marker is in Brookfield, Illinois, in Cook County. Memorial is at the intersection of Grand Boulevard and Sunnyside Avenue, on the right when traveling north on Grand Boulevard. The

Photographed By Sean Flynn, November 20, 2023

2. Veterans Memorial Park

The rear side of the sign for the park.

triangular park is at the intersection of Grand Boulevard, Sunnyside Avenue and Grant Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3649 Grand Boulevard, Brookfield IL 60513, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Veterans Memorial Circle (approx. 0.3 miles away); Baboon Island (approx. 0.8 miles away); South Gate (approx. 0.8 miles away); The Swamp (approx. 0.8 miles away); Partners in Conservation (approx. 0.9 miles away); Hamill Family Play Zoo (approx. 0.9 miles away); Riverside As It Once Was (approx. 0.9 miles away); Theodore Roosevelt Fountain (approx. 0.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Brookfield.

More about this marker. 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.

Photographed By Sean Flynn

3. Veterans Memorial Park

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.

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 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

Memorial to Brookfield's War Dead image. Click for full size.

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.

among the World 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-Mère-Église 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.

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.

Credits. This page was last revised on December 25, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 24, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 49 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on November 24, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.