May 23, 2025
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Illinois Fallen Wall will be open Memorial Day weekend at Oswego Village Hall

Wall honors Illinois service members killed in action since 9/11

By Eric Schelkopf
In partnership with Oswego Honors Veterans, the village of Oswego will host the Illinois Fallen Wall, a tribute honoring the memory of Illinois military service members who have been killed in action since Sept. 11, 2001. The wall will be on public display in the lobby of Oswego Village Hall, 100 Parkers Mill, through June 6.

In partnership with Oswego Honors Veterans, the village of Oswego will host the Illinois Fallen Wall, a tribute honoring the memory of Illinois military service members who have been killed in action since Sept. 11, 2001. The wall will be on public display in the lobby of Oswego Village Hall, 100 Parkers Mill, through June 6. (Eric Schelkopf)

Memorial Day is a day set aside to honor those men and women who died in service to their country.

In partnership with Oswego Honors Veterans, the village of Oswego is hosting the Illinois Fallen Wall, a tribute honoring the memory of Illinois military service members who have been killed in action since Sept. 11, 2001. The wall will be on public display in the lobby of Oswego Village Hall, 100 Parkers Mill, through June 6.

During the Memorial Day weekend, the memorial will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 24, 25 and 26, during which time the wall will be under volunteer guard.

The Illinois Fallen Wall is a tribute honoring the memory of Illinois military service members who have been killed in action since Sept. 11, 2001. The memorial, presented by the Chris Patterson Memorial Foundation, features the photos of every Illinois service member who gave their life in combat operations after 9/11.

After their son was killed in 2012 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, Bob and Mary Patterson were looking for a way to honor not only their son, but also others who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Bob Patterson, father of Chris Patterson, speaks during the May 9 opening ceremony of the Illinois Fallen Wall at Oswego Village Hall. Sitting behind him are Oswego Village President Ryan Kauffman, left, and Kris Kearns, right, a Marine Corps veteran and chairman of Oswego Honors Veterans.

Bob Patterson, father of Chris Patterson, speaks during the May 9 opening ceremony of the Illinois Fallen Wall at Oswego Village Hall. Sitting behind him are Oswego Village President Ryan Kauffman, left, and Kris Kearns, right, a Marine veteran and chairman of Oswego Honors Veterans. (Eric Schelkopf)

“It’s not just names, it’s faces,” Bob Patterson said during the May 9 opening ceremony at Oswego Village Hall. “Look at them and maybe they’re going to look back at you...If I can reach one person to honor and remember somebody that gave their all, then the wall has done it’s job.”

Chris Patterson, 20, a North Aurora resident, was a member of the Indiana National Guard and served as a combat engineer.

He was killed along with three other soldiers in his unit in January 2012 while conducting combat route clearance operations as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Patterson was a 2009 West Aurora High School graduate.

Also speaking at the ceremony was Denise Williams, mother of Army Private First Class Andrew Meari of Plainfield, who was killed in action in Afghanistan on Nov. 1, 2010. He was 21.

Meari was her only child. She is a licensed professional therapist of clinical psychology who works with those experiencing trauma and grief.

Williams also serves as the president of the American Gold Star Mothers Department of Illinois.

“This memorial, these faces, are those who in this generation fought that fight for all of us,” she said. “They paid the price for our freedom.”

The closing ceremony for the Illinois Fallen Wall will take place at 10:30 a.m. June 6 at Village Hall.

The Oswego Honors Veterans group is comprised of representatives from the village of Oswego, Oswego Fire Protection District, Fox Valley Veterans Breakfast Club, American Legion Post 675 and Fox Valley Marines Detachment 1233.

The group previously helped organize the events that brought the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall and the Middle East Conflicts Wall of Honor to Oswego in 2017 and 2021, respectively.