Brighton Park in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Five Holy Martyrs Parish Veterans Memorial

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, December 18, 2024

1. Five Holy Martyrs Parish Veterans Memorial Marker

Inscription.
[Tablet at the center:]
"I am the resurrection and the life"
In solemn memory of F.H.M. Post 500 Catholic War Veterans, honors its heroic comrades of Five Holy Martyrs Parish, who died for God, country, and home in World War II.

Arendt, Anthony • Biskupski, Stanley • Brzezinski, Chester • Brzyszczan, Peter • Chwiatkowski, Robert • Ciesielczyk, Richard • Cichucki, Florian • Czuchalski, Norbert • Dziedziak, Stanley • Drzwierzynski, Edward • Farnausz, Alexander • Figura, Edward • Franckowiak, Edward • Garwal, Casimer • Genga, Theodore • Gorlewski, Sylvester • Haptas, Bruno • Horazy, Joseph • Iwanaszko, Ben • Jaczak, Stanley • Kalva, Aloysius • Konowalik, Stanley • Kopec, Emil • Kowynia, Thaddeus • Kozak, John • Krolik, Roman • Lapiezo, Edward • Lopczynski, Edward • Luc, Walter • Machowicz, Theodore • Mackowiak, Leo • Marszalek, James • Maslanka, Edward • Matysiak, Stanley • Mikolajczyk, Chester • Mikolajczyk, Walter • Nowak, Frank • Panfil, Chester • Papes, Stephen • Pokrzywa, Francis • Przekwas, Leonard • Przezdzink, Stanley • Przybylinski, Ted • Rebenak, Alexander • Radkowski, Aloysius • Rusek, Matthew • Sadley, John • Siepak, Frank • Soprych, Edward • Sparks, Joseph • Stoklosa, Henry • Swiatnicki, Eugene • Szambelan, Stephen • Sweiss, Matthew • Tomczak, Frank • Tomczak, Ted • Tomczak, Stanley

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• Twarozynski, Chester • Wilczak, Stanley • Wojciechowski, Chester • Zaparty, Robert • Zadrozny, Anthony • Wierzbicki, Roman • Witek, Walter

[Tablet on the left:]
28 May 1984
F.H.M. Post 500 C.W.V. honors its heroic comrades of the parish who died in the Korean Conflict.
[Tablet on the right]:
28 May 1984
F.H.M. Post 500 C.W.V. honors its heroic comrades of the parish who died in the Vietnam Conflict.
Gnadiek, Robert J. • Rochacz, Richard J.

Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Religion & Religious Structures • War, Korean • War, Vietnam • War, World II.

Location. 41° 48.901′ N, 87° 41.875′ W. Memorial is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Brighton Park. It is on Richmond Street south of Pope John Paul II Drive (43rd Street), on the left when traveling south. The memorial is in front of Pope John Paul II Catholic School. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 4325 South Richmond Street, Chicago IL 60632, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is 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: World War II Memorial (approx. 0.6 miles away); The Boulevard System (approx. one mile away); McKinley Park (approx. one mile away); (Former) Schlitz Brewery-Tied House at 3456 S. Western Ave.

Five Holy Martyrs Parish Veterans Memorial image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, December 18, 2024

2. Five Holy Martyrs Parish Veterans Memorial

(approx. 1.2 miles away); a different marker also named World War II Memorial (approx. 1.3 miles away); Marquette and Jolliet Memorial (approx. 1.3 miles away); La Villita Natural Area (approx. 1.6 miles away); Our Hero War Dead (approx. 1.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

More about this memorial. Five Holy Martyrs Parish merged with nearby Immaculate Conception in 2019, part of the Archdiocese of Chicago's Renew My Church initiative. Five Holy Martyrs is traditionally home to a large Polish population, and in 1979 Pope John Paul II, a native of Poland, delivered mass at this church. Nearby 43rd Street has been renamed Pope John Paul II Drive.

Also see . . . Second to None: Pope John Paul II’s Visit to Chicago, 1979. The Archdiocese of Chicago website digs into its archives to revisit Pope John Paul II's visit to Chicago in 1979, which included a mass at Five Holy Martyrs Parish.

Excerpt: "After leaving Pilsen, John Paul II’s retinue turned towards the Polish community. Wojtyla had a special status among the world’s Poles, in no small part due to his role as a
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, December 18, 2024

3. Five Holy Martyrs Parish Veterans Memorial
The Spanish Mission-style Five Holy Martyrs church building is in the background of this north-facing photo. That building's windows are boarded up and it does not appear to be in active use. The school on the right, renamed after Pope John Paul II, is still open.
symbol of Polish resistance to Soviet communism. Not long after announcing the trip, the Pope notified the archdiocese that a special mass would take place on behalf of all Poles—in Polish—at Five Holy Martyrs, where he had visited twice before."

(Submitted on December 19, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Credits. This page was last revised on May 16, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 19, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 284 times since then and 45 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 19, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.