By TRICIA CARZOLI Independent photo by Tricia CarzoliWoodstock VFW Post 5040 Honor Guard’s Rifle Salute is fired at 11 a.m. Monday, Nov. 11, at the McHenry County Administration Building. Independent photo by Tricia CarzoliAll veterans are appreciated at the Soar@Dorr luncheon for veterans on Friday ahead of Veterans Day.
“We want our veterans to know that we are there for them,” American Legion Commander Louisett “Lou” Ness said. For the first time, the VFW and the American Legion teamed up to host a joint Veterans Day ceremony at the McHenry County Courthouse Administrative Building in Woodstock. The focus of the event was serving veterans […]
For U.S. Army Vietnam veteran Dan Neely, November brings both Veterans Day and an anniversary that he never forgets. “Fifty-four years ago today I was drafted,” he said Friday, Nov. 3. “It was 1969, and I remember it every year.” Next year, Neely will have another date to add to his anniversary lists – the […]
County shines light on assistance for veterans McHenry County is again joining counties nationwide to observe Operation Green Light to show support for America’s veterans and raise awareness of resources available to them. Operation Green Light will take place from Nov. 6 through Nov. 12, coinciding with Veterans Day on Nov. 11. The nationwide observance […]
The week leading up to Nov. 11 was a prime opportunity for Woodstock schools to celebrate Veterans Day. As has long been the practice, numerous schools held assemblies and breakfasts, and veterans were invited to speak in classrooms while local businesses and the VFW Post 5040 honored veterans with ceremonies, food, and the opportunity to […]
Get to work Green Friday for day of land restoration Green Friday will be observed as an alternative to Black Friday on Friday, Nov. 25, when the McHenry County Conservation District invites the public to a day of land restoration at several conservation sites. Those include: • 10 a.m.-noon – Boger Bog Conservation Area, 2100 […]
Woodstock’s usual events for Veterans Day cautiously re-emerged this year, one year after COVID had canceled most of 2020’s events. District 200 embraced veterans last Wednesday by inviting them to welcome students as they entered schools, and the students, in return, offered their appreciation along with coffee and doughnuts. Northwood Middle School, while it could […]
Woodstock VFW Post 5040 has been a fixture in town for 75 years. Committed to serving veterans, youths and families, community, and the spread of patriotism, the VFW has been a place of refuge and strength for veterans across all modern eras. It has embraced with loving arms the distraught, returning home with nowhere to […]
“Life is never really what you think it is going to be,” retired Army Sgt. Maj. Thomas M. Morrissey said. “You need to adapt.” The Woodstock man survived eight gunshot wounds in Afghanistan and was medically retired after 32 years with the Army Special Forces, but he lives that motto every day. Morrissey recalled reading […]
By Dr. Mark DePue For many of us, the Korean War is truly a “forgotten war,” lost to our consciousness between America’s triumph in World War II and the tragedy of the Vietnam War. But for the past two decades, the Korean peninsula has again caught our attention, chiefly because of the incessant saber rattling […]
Larry Lough is editor of The Independent and reports local news.
Janet Dovidio has been a freelance correspondent for The Independent for eight years.
Susan W. Murray wrote for The Independent, covering various beats, from 2005 to 2008.
Tricia Carzoli is a freelance writer and photographer that on community news.
