Norwood Park in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Norwood Park Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Photographed By Sean Flynn, January 6, 2024
1. Norwood Park Vietnam Veterans Memorial Marker
In recognition for their ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam this memorial is dedicated with Honor, Gratitude and Pride to
Pfc. G. Kasper • Pfc. D. Fries • Capt. D. Luster
Erected by 1/3 Airborne Brig.
Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Patriots & Patriotism • War, Vietnam.
Location. 41° 59.482′ N, 87° 47.955′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Norwood Park. Memorial is at the intersection of North Avondale Avenue and North Nina Avenue, on the right when traveling east on North Avondale Avenue. The marker is in front of a flagpole in a small semi-circular park in the center of Chicago's Norwood Park neighborhood, across the street from the railroad tracks and the Norwood Park Metra station beyond that. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 6052 N Avondale Ave, Chicago IL 60631, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Edison Park World War I Memorial (approx. 1.2 miles away); Mary Berkemeier Quinn Park-of-Trees (approx. 1½ miles away); Old Edgebrook (approx. 1.7 miles away); World War II Memorial (approx. 1.9 miles away); Read-Dunning Cemetery No. 3 (approx. 2½
this page online
More about this memorial. When visited in January 2024, the memorial was flanked by two wreaths, the left (east) one with a poem affixed to it and the other featuring brief bios of the three men honored on this plaque.
Regarding Norwood Park Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Dale Luster, a Marine Corps pilot, spent his high school years in the Norwood Park neighborhood on Chicago's far northwest side, where he graduated from William H. Taft High School (about ¾ of a mile from this memorial) in 1958. In 1962, he graduated from Northwestern University, where he had received an ROTC scholarship, and then trained as a pilot before embarking on his first tour of Vietnam in 1965. After completing that tour in 1966, he volunteered for a second and returned in 1967. On September 26, 1968, Captain Luster was providing air support for an Army unit under attack against an enemy
Photographed By Sean Flynn, January 6, 2024
2. Norwood Park Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Gregory Kasper and Dennis Fries were football teammates and 1966 graduates of Notre Dame High School, a Catholic school in Niles, a suburb just north of Chicago's city limits, about 3½ miles from this memorial. The two men died within a month of each other, both in Quang Tri Province, less than 18 months after graduating high school.
Greg Kasper attended grammar school at St. Juliana School in the Edison Park neighborhood (north of Norwood Park) before attending Notre Dame High School. He was a 20-year-old Marine mortarman when he was killed by enemy mortar fire in Quang Tri Province on September 25, 1967. Kasper is also honored with a memorial in Edison Park, where a block of North Oketo Avenue was also dedicated in his honor.
Pfc. Dennis Fries attended St. Thecla School in Norwood Park before attending Notre Dame for high school. He was a Marine rifleman when he was killed on October 26, 1967, by enemy fire. Both Fries and his classmate Kasper are buried in Saint Adalbert Cemetery
Photographed By Sean Flynn, January 6, 2024
3. Norwood Park Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Photographed By Sean Flynn, January 6, 2024
4. Norwood Park
Norwood Park, about 14 miles northwest of Chicago's Loop, was incorporated a village in 1873 and annexed by Chicago in 1893. The UP-Northwest rail tracks are just off-camera to the right.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 7, 2024. It was originally submitted on January 7, 2024, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 50 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 7, 2024, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
