Montgomery in Kane County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

V.F.W. Montgomery Memorial Post 7452

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, April 26, 2025

1. V.F.W. Montgomery Memorial Post 7452 Marker

Inscription. In memory of John Kozloski, Jr. • Paul Heffner • Richard Mosley • La Verne H. Woodard

Erected by VFW Post 7452.

Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Fraternal or Sororal Organizations • War, World II.

Location. 41° 43.751′ N, 88° 20.47′ W. Memorial is in Montgomery, Illinois, in Kane County. It is on North River Street east of Webster Street. The memorial is in front of the VFW post's headquarters. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 121 North River Street, Montgomery IL 60538, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in Greater Chicago.

It is also in the American Midwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Navy, Marine and Coast Guard Memorial (here,

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next to this marker); Settler's Cottage (within shouting distance of this marker); Gray-Watkins Mill (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Montgomery and the Fox River: A Shared History (about 600 feet away); Montgomery Veterans Memorial / Service Above Self (approx. 0.2 miles away); Samuel Bedrosian, PhD (approx. 1.3 miles away); Glacial Boulder from Mendota College (approx. 1.8 miles away); Remember Oklahoma City (approx. 1.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Montgomery.

More about this memorial. A naval gun with another memorial is a few paces away.

Regarding V.F.W. Montgomery Memorial Post 7452. The memorial honors four Montgomery men who died while serving in World War II.

John Kozloski Jr. was a member of the 460th Bombardment Group. At the time of his enlistment, he appears to have lived on River Street a block northeast of this memorial, and he worked for Richards-Wilcox, a manufacturer of garage doors that was originally headquartered in Aurora. Kozloski died at age 20 when the plane he was flying on crashed in Austria on June 26, 1944.

Paul Heffner was living on 222 S. Main

V.F.W. Post 7452 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, April 26, 2025

2. V.F.W. Post 7452

St. in Montgomery, about two blocks from this memorial, when he registered with the Selective Service in 1940. He had previously lived in La Salle, Illinois, and been married to Ethel Guthrie Heffner, who died in 1930 and is buried at Restland Cemetery in Mendota, Illinois, in La Salle County. According to his Selective Service registration card, Heffner worked for the "Chicago Burlington RR," likely the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q) Railroad, which traveled through this area. He was 38 years old and working for the Army as a railroad sales clerk at Fort Sam Houston at the time of his death, on August 1, 1942. According to his death certificate from Bexar County, Texas, he died of a skull fracture and cerebral hemorrhage; the cause of those injuries was "undetermined." He is buried near his wife at Restland.

Richard Mosley was born in Elizabeth, Illinois. He met his eventual wife, Eloise, in Montgomery, and was living here, across the street from this memorial, when he registered with the Selective Service in 1940. He also worked for the CB&Q Railroad in Montgomery. According to his death certificate, Mosley was a ward attendant

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, April 26, 2025

3. V.F.W. Post 7452

for the U.S. Army. He died on July 20, 1944, at Ashburn General Hospital in McKinney, Texas, of a pulmonary embolism. He is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Montgomery, about a half-mile northeast of this memorial; Eloise died in 2011 at age 100 and is buried there too.

LaVerne Woodard attended Aurora West High School and, according to his obituary in the Aurora Beacon-News, lived at 1120 Ridgeway in Montgomery, about 1½ miles north of this memorial. He served in the U.S. Navy as an aviation ordnanceman for the 23rd Bomber Squadron in the Pacific Theater. He died in action on June 3, 1945, about two months shy of his 21st birthday. His obituary says he died in "Rel Shima"; that is quite likely referencing Ie Shima, a spot where the U.S. fought during the Okinawa Campaign of 1945. Woodard is buried in Riverside Cemetery.

Also see . . . VFW Post 7452 official site. (Submitted on April 28, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Credits. This page was last revised on April 29, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 28, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 179 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 28, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 3. submitted on April 29, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.