Now situated along the Fox River is a reflective park dedicated to honor the veterans who have served their country.
Veterans Serenity Park in downtown Oswego was dedicated Sunday during a ceremony attended by local dignitaries, veterans, family members and supporters.
About 450 people attended the dedication. Among the keynote speakers were U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, Army veteran and Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs Linda Chapa LaVia and State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego.
“When something like this is created, it becomes part of history,” Chapa LaVia said.
“This site will become a primary source of honor for generations of learners to come. It will help people remember what servicemen and women have done,” she said.
The park is the culmination of a two-year community project designed as a lasting tribute to veterans in Oswego.
Village President Troy Parlier recognized the bravery of veterans who have served their country. He said the park can be a place of serenity for all.
“The park is a fitting place for veterans who seek tranquility from the memories of conflict,” Parlier said.
But it is also a fitting place for others — a mother facing a battle with cancer, a son sharing his struggles with his father and for people to come down to show their respect to those that have served and are presently serving their country, he said.
“It is a peace of the fabric of Oswego that makes this place special and indicates another piece of goodness in the community,” the village president said.
The park connects at the north end with the Hudson Crossing Park walking trail on Adams Street, about a block west of downtown Oswego. The new park is within walking distance of Oswego Veterans Memorial Plaza at Main and Jefferson streets.
The Oswegoland Park District last year announced plans for the park as a public and private partnership involving many of the individuals who worked to bring the Vietnam Moving Wall to Oswego in 2017.
The park was designed as a peaceful refuge where people can reflect in a quiet setting along the beauty of the river, said Dave Krahn, who was a member of the committee which brought the Moving Wall to Oswego.
“By Friday, we weren’t sure the benches would arrive,” Krahn said of the complexity of pulling the project together.
An eternal flame and cascading waterfall are focal points in the park. There are separate stones and bench seating in the park dedicated to the five branches of the military with bronze insignias.
In addition, there are memorial benches, bricks and tributes honoring present and past veterans, some going as far back as the Civil War.
A group of 1987 Oswego High School alums donated funds for a memorial bench for classmate U.S. Marine Cpl. Michael Thompson.
Thompson died Sept. 2, 1997. He was 28.
Most of the alums have a lasting memory of their friend even though many have moved away from Oswego, Francine Bazos said.
About 30 out-of-town friends attended the dedication.
Bazos described her classmate as an exceptional person, thoughtful and a standout wrestler.
“Mike was unique even in his high school days. He would get straight A’s and be the life of the party,” she said.
He was the guy that looked out for the underdog, she said.
“If someone was making fun of another student, he would stand up for the kid. If someone appeared as though they were having a hard time, he would make sure they were getting some help,” she said.
Thompson enlisted in the U.S. Marine in November 1987. He served during the Gulf War during Operation Desert Shield for operations leading to the buildup of troops and defense of Saudi Arabia. He served the remaining time of his service in Japan, family said.
“Mike had a sense of humor and was a fun-loving guy, but at the same time he was a very loving person,” said his mother, Bobbi Thompson.
Thompson was living in Chicago and started a new job in the financial industry when he died suddenly. He had just graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he studied philosophy and earned degrees in economics and accounting.
Thompson has stayed in contact with her son’s friends and buddies in the Marines, but to hear the tributes in his memory 22 years after his death was a little overwhelming, she said.
“He didn’t bring home all of his friends, so to hear them speak so highly of him after all these years later has been overwhelming to us,” the mother said.
Monetary and in-kind donations were accepted as part of the fundraising for the project designed as a 24/7 park, organizers said.
One of the primary benefactors of the park was Twin Oaks Landscaping owner Phil Edwards. Edwards took care of a lot of the expenses and brought in limestone boulders for the waterfall. His son, Ryan, 23, recently enlisted in the Marines, he said.
Others have been gauging the progress of the park.
“It’s cool to see how the community has created a place of serenity instead of war,” said Marine veteran Ken Havelka, 78.
U.S. Navy Petty Officer William Virgil from Aurora was among the attendees. “It’s helpful that the outlooks are by the water,” said Virgil, 28. “This reminds me of why I enlisted in the military and what we are all willing to do.”
