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

Norridge Vietnam War Memorial

Honor • Courage

 
 
Norridge Vietnam War Memorial Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Sean Flynn, May 21, 2024
1. Norridge Vietnam War Memorial Marker
Inscription.
In memory of those who made the supreme sacrifice for their country

Donald Warren Bollman, U.S.M.C., March 1, 1967 • Kenneth Wayne Wells, Army, March 5, 1967 • Neil Joseph Cacciottolo, U.S.M.C., May 10, 1967 • Ronald Chester Rogowski, U.S.M.C., Sept. 25, 1967 • James Chris Shukas, Army, April 12, 1970
 
Topics. This memorial is listed in this topic list: War, Vietnam.
 
Location. 41° 57.19′ N, 87° 48.885′ W. Memorial is in Norridge, Illinois, in Cook County. It is on North Olcott Avenue north of West Irving Park Road (Illinois Route 19). The marker is south of the Veterans Memorial, and just north of Norridge Village Hall. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 4000 North Olcott Avenue, Harwood Heights IL 60706, 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 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Norridge Veterans Memorial (a few steps from this marker); 9/11 Memorial (approx. 0.4 miles away); 09.11.2001 (approx. 0.4 miles away); Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.9 miles away); Read-Dunning Cemetery No. 3 (approx. 0.9 miles away); 9–11–01 (approx. one mile away); Civil War Veterans (approx. 1.2 miles away); Unidentified Victims of the 1871 Chicago Fire (approx. 1.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Norridge.
 
Regarding Norridge Vietnam War Memorial.
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The marker honors five local men who died in Vietnam.

Marine Cpl. Donald Warren Bollman, who grew up in Norridge and attended Ridgewood High School, was one of three brothers who served in Vietnam. He was killed in battle in Quang Tri Province on March 1, 1967, at age 23. He is buried in Irving Park Cemetery, about one-third of a mile west of this location. The Irving Park Road bridge across the Des Plaines River, about two miles due west of here, was renamed after Bollman in 2017.

Specialist 4th Class Kenneth W. Wells, 23, was killed four days after Cpl. Bollman, on March 5, 1967, when his helicopter crashed in the Saigon River in Phan Rang. According to a brief Chicago Tribune article about his death, Wells volunteered to serve two extra months in Vietnam "because his buddies needed him." He is buried in Maryhill Catholic Cemetery, about seven miles north of here.

Pfc. Neil Cacciottolo enlisted in the Marines in March 1966. On May 10, 1967, the combat patrol Cacciottolo was part of came under hostile fire, as did a helicopter attempting to rescue the squad. Cacciottolo, a rifleman and 20 years old, was killed during the attempted evacuation. He is buried at St. Joseph Cemetery in River Grove, about two miles southwest of here. His father, Ralph, was a private first class in the Army and served in World War II.

Pfc. Ronald Rogowski was
Norridge Vietnam War Memorial image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Sean Flynn, May 21, 2024
2. Norridge Vietnam War Memorial
A close-up of the names on the memorial.
born in Chicago and raised in Norridge, where he graduated from Ridgewood High School in 1962. He enlisted in the Marines in May of 1966. On September 26, 1967, Pfc. Rogowski was killed by mortar fire in Quang Nam province, with the official cause of death listed as friendly fire. He is buried in St. Adalbert Catholic Cemetery in Niles, about five miles north of here.

Specialist 4th Class James Shukas was 21 years old when he died of wounds from a grenade blast on April 12, 1970, in Hau Nghia Province. According to his obituary, he was survived by his parents, two brothers and a fiancιe. He is buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Elmwood Park, about 2½ miles southwest of here.
 
Norridge Vietnam War Memorial image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Sean Flynn, May 21, 2024
3. Norridge Vietnam War Memorial
The memorial is seen from the side in this south-facing view; behind it is the Norridge Village Hall.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 7, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 21, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 748 times since then and 44 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on May 21, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
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Jun. 27, 2026