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

Conner-Heise Memorial Park

Photographed by Sean Flynn, January 3, 2024

1. Conner-Heise Memorial Park Marker

Inscription. >This park is dedicated to the memory of

P.F.C. Thomas Earl Conner U.S.M.C. • P.F.C. Thomas Heise U.S.M.C.

who gave their lives for their country in Vietnam. Let none forget they gave their all and faltered not when came the call.

Erected 1991.

Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Patriots & Patriotism • War, Vietnam.

Location. 41° 52.902′ N, 87° 50.773′ W. Memorial is in Maywood, Illinois, in Cook County. It is at the intersection of South 11th Avenue and Washington Boulevard, on the right when traveling north on South 11th Avenue. The marker is in the northern part of the park, near the playground and in front of a flagpole. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 609 South 11th Avenue, Maywood IL 60153, 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

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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: Maywood Peace Garden (approx. 0.4 miles away); Harry H. Nichols House (approx. half a mile away); Bicentennial Bandstand (approx. half a mile away); Frederick Allen Hampton (approx. 0.6 miles away); First School Building in Melrose Park, Illinois (approx. 0.7 miles away); Maywood World War I Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.7 miles away); Company B, 192nd Tank Battalion Memorial (approx. 0.7 miles away); 192nd Tank Battalion Memorial (approx. 0.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Maywood.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Site Of Company "B" 192nd Tank Battalion (was approx. 0.7 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Regarding Conner-Heise Memorial Park. This small park along Washington Boulevard in Maywood, a Chicago suburb, is named after a pair of local natives who died in Vietnam before their 19th birthdays.

Born and raised in Maywood, Thomas "Tommie" Conner attended Washington School (located

Conner-Heise Memorial Park and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, January 3, 2024

2. Conner-Heise Memorial Park and Marker

kitty-corner to the northwest of the park) and later Proviso East High School, from which he graduated in 1965. Enlisting as a Marine rifleman after graduation, Conner was killed while on patrol in Quang Nam Province on March 8, 1966, about a month before his 19th birthday. He is buried in Sunset Memorial Lawns in Northbrook, Illinois, about 25 miles north of this park. Conner's brother Ralph served as Maywood's village president from 2001 until 2005.

Thomas "Tommy" Heise, was a Marine mortarman who graduated from Proviso East in 1968. Still 17 when he enlisted after graduation (his stepfather had to sign off on his early enlistment, according to one news report), he began his tour in Vietnam in February 1969. Early in the morning on February 25, 1969, Heise and eight other Marines were killed when their platoon was attacked on Mutter's Hill in the DMZ by the North Vietnamese Army. Heise is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois, a few miles from this park.

Also see . . . Memorial Day comes at a cost. This article, from the Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest, looks at the "Two Tommys" memorialized

Conner-Heise Memorial Park image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, January 3, 2024

3. Conner-Heise Memorial Park

at this park in Maywood.

Excerpt: "Now that memorial is a half century old, 'an island in a stark playground. They don’t have the money. Sometimes the weeds get pretty long,' Heise said. 'But no one’s ever going to move that boulder,' he added, 'and the plaque is still firmly affixed.' So the memorial will last, even if the residents — and people from other towns driving through — may not know, or much care, who the two Tommys were or why the park is named Conner-Heise."

(Submitted on January 3, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Additional keywords. KIA

Conner-Heise Memorial Park Marker, 2025 location image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, September 18, 2025

4. Conner-Heise Memorial Park Marker, 2025 location

The stone was moved to new spot a short distance west after a 2025 renovation of the park.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 22, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 3, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 855 times since then and 53 times this year. Last updated on January 3, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. Photos: 1. submitted on January 3, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 2, 3. submitted on January 8, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 4. submitted on September 18, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.