Membership Notes

In Step, Together:
Clinton County, Illinois, Chapter 269

BY VICKY ALBERS

Clinton County, Illinois, Chapter 269 kicked off 2012 in grand fashion: On January 28 its float was the first to appear in St. Louis’s Welcome Home Parade for Post-9/11 Troops—the first such parade since the Iraq War’s official end on December 11, 2011.

Market Street was blanketed in red, white, and blue on that day. One hundred thousand people turned out to welcome home troops who had fought in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“When we got wind of this parade in St. Louis, we immediately jumped on the chance to be in it,” said Chapter 269 member Vernon Mohesky. “Even though this was a homecoming parade for the Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans, it also meant a tremendous amount to Vietnam veterans since they did not get any type of recognition when they came home so many years ago.

“I cannot even begin to guess how many times we heard ‘I love you! I love you! I love you!’ as we passed the huge crowd. This parade, not necessarily meant for us, became a real healing experience for many veterans in our chapter.”

Dressed in their Army-issued jungle fatigues, ten chapter members marched in the parade, while twelve others traveled the route from Kiener Plaza to Union Station on a tractor-pulled float.

“There was a lady who held up a sign indicating her husband had passed away because of Agent Orange exposure,” Mohesky said. “As we passed her, Chapter President Mo Zurliene left our ranks, walked over to her, gave her a hug, and told her how sorry he was for her loss.”

Zurliene agreed that the wildly cheering crowd along the parade route strongly affected Vietnam veterans. “It really meant a lot, and I think it gave solace to a lot of guys,” he said. “It was very emotional—a great, great day.”

The rural Illinois chapter has grown to 125 members, with new members joining at nearly every monthly meeting. Marching in parades helps to keep the chapter in the public eye. The parade entry typically consists of a fourteen-man marching unit, followed by a float with several banners on it, including one that lists the names of all those from Clinton County who died in the Vietnam War.

The chapter marches in half a dozen parades annually, including the Clinton County Fair Parade and the local Veterans Day Parade. Last year, it participated in parades as far away as suburban Chicago.

Fundraising is critical to the chapter’s mission. “The fundraising that we do so much of creates a means of helping out the needy in our surrounding area,” Mohesky said.

The chapter holds fundraisers and participates in many community activities throughout the year. Last year, for example, chapter members cooked breakfast for seniors at the western edge of the county. The chapter also hosted a spring fundraising breakfast in Germantown, Ill.; a raffle for a week’s vacation in Kissimmee, Fla. (donated by a chapter member); a four-wheeler raffle; a shotgun raffle; and a fall breakfast at chapter headquarters in Carlyle, Ill. Chapter members made and sold kettle corn at a fall festival in New Baden, Ill., and participated in an event sponsored by a local Ford dealership that helped the chapter raise $6,000.

“Our goal is to beef up our own treasury so we can be more active in helping local Vietnam veterans and other local veterans and charities,” Zurliene said. In November the chapter made generous donations to area food pantries. Scholarships were presented to two local college students last June.

With support for fellow veterans remaining an important part of the chapter’s mission, a key component is showing respect for those who have died. Working with other VSOs, Chapter 269 ensures that any family that requests a military funeral receives it—one of the reasons for the Class A uniforms.

“The funeral homes in the area know to ask families if their loved one was in the military,” Mohesky said, “and they call upon us if the answer is ‘yes.’ ”

Chapter 269 has conducted many military funerals over the last few years for Vietnam and Korean War veterans and others—some on very short notice.

“It doesn’t matter what branch of service they were in. If they want a military funeral, they are going to get one,” Mohesky said. “It’s a final show of respect for our fallen comrades.”

Many people today, Zurliene said, don’t realize how many local men and local families were affected by Vietnam. “Most of the guys in the classes of ’65, ’66, and ’67 were drafted,” he said. “They sent us to Vietnam for our senior trip.”

For more information about Clinton County Chapter 269, call Maurice (Mo) Zurliene at 618-920-5222.