Memorial Day in Crystal Lake to feature first female keynote speaker

When Col. Patty Klop was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009, her job was to help repatriate those who had been killed in combat.

She saw firsthand – and on a recurring basis – what the ultimate sacrifice looked like.

“It was extremely traumatic and daunting and repeated,” Klop said.

The experience led to 12 years of severe post-traumatic stress disorder and a seven-week inpatient stay in a Cincinnati-based hospital, as well as a desire to share her story with others.

Klop, who spent five years in the U.S. Marine Corps and the next 24 years with the Marine Corps Reserves, will be the first female keynote speaker at the Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony in Crystal Lake later this month.

Klop is one of 233 reserve colonels in the U.S. Marines, 22 of whom are women, according to a city of Crystal Lake news release.

She joined the Marines right after college – she wore her dress blues to graduation instead of a cap and gown – and spent five years in active duty.

At the time, it was “very uncommon for women to be in the Marine Corps, but after growing up very athletic and seeing the world through her father’s work as a Pan Am pilot, she could think of “no other greater organization that I would feel would challenge me beyond my limits.”

“It’s so critical just to be honest with ourselves and to get the help that we desperately need without shame or judgment.”

—  Col. Patty Klop

In addition to her six-month deployment to Afghanistan, Klop also was deployed to Iraq, according to the U.S. Marines.

She also spent 16 years as an adapted physical education and health teacher in Prairie Grove School District 46, according to the district. She lives in Wauconda with her husband, David, and their two boys, who are 6 and 8 years old, Klop said.

The Crystal Lake Memorial Day Parade begins at 11 a.m. May 29 at Crystal Lake Central High School, 45 W. Franklin St. It runs east on Franklin Avenue, north on Williams Street and west on Woodstock Street to Union Cemetery, where a memorial service will be held.

The city describes the parade and ceremony as “a solemn event intended to honor veterans and those who have given their lives for their country.”

Parade attendees are not to distribute candy or flyers during the parade, according to the city’s newsletter.

Klop said she wanted to speak about her experience with PTSD because there “are so many suffering in silence.”

With her treatment, she said she “felt that God had hit the reset button on my life,” adding that the outpatient help she had received over the years through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs wasn’t enough to really get traction on her symptoms.

“It’s so critical just to be honest with ourselves and to get the help that we desperately need without shame or judgment,” she said.