Morton Grove in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Grove
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, March 12, 2025
1. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Grove Marker
Erected 1976.
Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Parks & Recreational Areas • War, Vietnam.
Location. 42° 2.472′ N, 87° 47.854′ W. Memorial is in Morton Grove, Illinois, in Cook County. It is at the intersection of West Dempster Street (Illinois Route 58) and New England Avenue, on the right when traveling west on West Dempster Street. The plaque is just behind (north) of a newer veterans memorial located in front of the Morton Grove Park District building. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 6834 West Dempster Street, Morton Grove IL 60053, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this memorial is in Greater Chicago. It is also in the American Midwest and on the
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Morton Grove Veterans' Memorial (here, next to this marker); The Morton Grove Prairie (approx. Ό mile away); Historic Indian Marker Tree (approx. Ύ mile away); Harrer Park (approx. Ύ mile away); The Morton Grove Volunteer Fire Company (approx. 0.8 miles away); Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution (approx. 0.8 miles away); American Indian - Potawatomi Tribe Eagle Dancer (approx. 0.8 miles away); Indian Trading Post (approx. 0.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Morton Grove.
More about this memorial. This 1976 plaque is located just behind a 1995 veterans memorial, whose plaque also refers to it as a "memorial grove." It is not known if this memorial replaced the existing grove, or if the plaque was moved from another location in Morton Grove. All eight
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, March 12, 2025
2. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Grove Marker
Regarding Vietnam Veterans Memorial Grove. This memorial honors eight area men who died in the Vietnam War.
Morton Grove native William Noddin grew up on Capulina Avenue in this northern suburb of Chicago. He was a 20-year-old member of Company A, 2nd Batallion, 3rd Infantry, 199th Infantry Brigade when he died in battle in Long An Province on April 25, 1968. He is buried in Memorial Park in nearby Skokie.
James Novotny grew up in Morton Grove and attended Niles West High School in Skokie. He was a 20-year-old member of Company A, 3rd Battalion, 39th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division, when he was killed by small arms fire in Long An Province on March 20, 1968. He's buried at Bohemian National Cemetery on Chicago's north side.
Thomas Pilkington, a Morton Grove native, remains officially missing in action after the F-4B Phantom II plane he was flying in for the U.S. Navy on September 19, 1966, went missing over North Vietnam. According to the government's POW/MIA database,
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, March 12, 2025
3. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Grove Marker rear view
The Morton Grove Park District building is in the rear.
Morton Grove native Frank Walthers was an Army airborne ranger in Company C, 75th Infantry Rangers, 173rd Airborne Brigade. According to a brief article about his death in the Chicago Tribune, Corporal Walthers lived at 8046 Central Avenue in Morton Grove, about 2½ miles southeast of this memorial, and was a 1967 graduate of Niles West High School. On August 1, 1969, his company was surrounded by North Vietnamese troops and engaged in a fierce firefight. He was shot in the chest and killed; another American soldier, Harold Williams, was also killed. Walthers was survived by his parents, five sisters and a brother, and was buried at St. Adalbert Cemetery in Niles, a few miles
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, March 12, 2025
4. Morton Grove Veterans Memorial
The stone with the Vietnam plaque is to the right of this sign.
Thomas Widerquist, a first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, was a crew member on a C-130E Hercules military transport aircraft that was shot down during a resupply mission to An Loc in South Vietnam on May 3, 1972. He was 25 years old. While rescue teams recovered most of the crew's remains a few months after the incident, Lt. Widerquist's body could not be identified until June of 1974. According to his obituary in the Tribune, Widerquist lived at 8817 N. Menard in Morton Grove. He graduated in 1965 from Niles West and in 1969 from North Park College on Chicago's north side, where he was the captain of the swimming team, and where there is still a scholarship fund in his name. His parents established a memorial for him at Ridgewood Cemetery in Des Plaines, Illinois, and his remains were later interred there.
Master Sergeant Norman Miller was an Army administrative specialist who, according to his tombstone at Ft. Sam Houston Cemetery in Texas, also served in World War II. His hometown was listed as Morton Grove, although he was born in Oklahoma. He died while on tour in Vietnam on December 1, 1968, at age 50, apparently of an accidental shooting.
Only limited information about Douglas Gary Perz could be found. What can be known for certain is that he died in California in June 1973, just a few weeks after turning 20 years old, and is buried at Acacia Park Cemetery in Norridge, Illinois. Information about Robert Lee Foreman, listed on the memorial as having served in the U.S. Air Force, could not be found.
Credits. This page was last revised on March 17, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 16, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 232 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on March 16, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 2, 3, 4. submitted on March 17, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
