Dixon veteran honored as 50-year member of Dixon’s American Legion Post

DIXON – Being recognized as a 50-year continuous member of Dixon American Legion Post 12 was something that Charlie “Chuck” Willett said surprised him and he was honored to receive it.

Post Commander Doug Near presented the certificate March 15 to Willett, who has been a member since about 1974. Willett’s wife, Mary, said he’s been involved with the Legion for as long as she can remember.

“It’s an honor to present the awards,” Near said. “Some people have been members for up to 75 years.”

The American Legion was created by a group of veterans near the end of World War I who saw a need in the United States to better care for veterans. The organization was chartered by Congress in 1919 and continued to advocate for veterans, support military families and sponsor youth mentor programs. Today, the organization has more than 1.6 million members in more than 12,000 posts worldwide, according to legion.org.

The Dixon Post was founded in 1946. Since then, it’s grown to about 200 members, all of whom are veterans or active-duty military, Near said.

Near served in the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy. Willett served in the U.S. Army for two years. He was stationed in Okinawa from 1955 to 1956 when he was barely 21 years old.

U.S. occupation of Okinawa lasted several years. The island served as a major military base at the end of World War II and during the Vietnam War.

Afterward, Willett returned home to Dixon, where spent most of his life. He opened and ran Charlie’s Bar, which has since closed. He also is the owner of a trucking company called Katss & S LLC, which formerly was known as “Whatever Trucking Co.”

As for his involvement with the American Legion, one achievement that sticks out is the creation of Veterans Memorial Park at 668 Veterans Parkway in Dixon.

City park commissioners met in the summer of 2001 at the site of the planned park to discuss where waterlines should be placed when one member pointed out that a lot of fill dirt was needed to safely install the lines. When the commissioners lacked the proper equipment, they called Willett, who arrived within the hour with multiple dirt-filled trucks from his company’s fleet.

Willett and his company used the trucks to fill low spots with dirt and also provided a bulldozer and other equipment to spread the dirt and level the ground.

Sept. 10, 2001, was established as the official founding day of the park. Since then, the park has built its collection of monuments and artifacts from various wars.

One such resident is the Republic F-105 Thunderchief, a fighter-bomber designed to drop nuclear bombs at low altitudes in the early days of the Cold War. Al Wikoff, a member of the park commission, secured the airplane for the park in 2010 as a loan from the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Ohio. It had been on display in Jackson, Mississippi, for several decades.

In April 2010, Willett was headed to Jackson to retrieve the airplane using a truck from his company’s fleet. The Thunderchief was taken apart and packed for the nearly 800-mile trip back to Dixon. It was reassembled at the park and has been on display for about 14 years.

Over the years, Dixon American Legion members have participated in veterans’ funeral ceremonies, the Petunia Festival Parade, flag ceremonies, Veterans of Foreign Wars memorial services at Veterans Memorial Park and helped out other posts, such as Amboy or Franklin Grove, if they’re short a member, Near said.

About 10 of the American Legion’s members are active in the Post’s Color Guard. For the past three years, the guard has presented the colors at Dixon High School’s football games.

“We have served our country and there’s a feeling, I think, that we still serve and will continue to serve as long as we’re a part of the Legion,” Near said.