A new leader at Joliet’s Stone City VFW Post 2199 has been working to bring in younger veterans like himself and grow the presence of the organization in the community.

Check out our photos from our Thank You Veterans special section in the Illinois Valley for 2025.

A Marseilles native, Trisha Modeen is a Navy veteran who is a nurse at Ottawa High School and is involved in the Quilts of Valor Foundation, which awards quilts to active duty or military veterans that have been touched by war

In 1961, Jerry Smith was washing windows at a JCPenney in Dixon when he thought he caught a lucky break: He’d found a job at a shoe store that would pay him $60 a week. Fast forward a few decades to NIU, Army service in Germany, a mayoral term: "I have been so blessed," he said.

Wartime chronicles written by a Civil War veteran steeped in Sandwich history have been rediscovered by a Malta man who has a knack for finding historical items.

Check out the photos from our Thank You Veterans special section in Kane County for 2025.

Marine veteran Tom Bulin, of Oswego, said what most people forget about the Vietnam War is that most of the fighters on both sides were very young.

When it was established in 1925, nearly all of the founders of Veterans of Foreign Wars St. Juvin Post 1336 had a common thread — they served in World War I. Fast forward a century later, and the majority of the Coal City group’s members are Vietnam War veterans.

Momence Superintendent Shannon Anderson found a solution to his aimlessness and struggles in high school through the Marine Corps.

Army veteran Doug Katz started designing kitchen knives that wouldn't inflame his hand and shoulder pain. Now he's grown his Nulu knives into a business that specializes in helping those with disabilities.

Carol Stream veteran Wallace Alcon served his county for more than four decades in a numerous capacities being a chaplain

“He was always so proud to serve,” said Dixon resident Carla Hill of her son, a veteran of the United States Army, who died in August 2024 after a long battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Twenty-one years after retiring from the Navy Nurse Corps, Priscilia Laubscher, of Oswego, continues touting the teamwork and communication skills necessary to thrive under challenging situations.

After serving as an Army sergeant, Floyd Dunn of Sterling is now serving again – this time by helping veterans face the hardships of life back home.

Keeping up a 85-year-old building is no small feat, yet Michael Farrari is working hard at it, as commander of the Geneva-Fox River American Legion Post 75.

Air Force veteran Jen Solum head the Veterans Assistance Commission of Will County, which plans to expand veterans services in 2025 as it moves into new building.

It hasn't been an easy road for Tim Dippon to get where he's at now, living in Vermilion County and spending as much time in nature as he can.

Derek Franzen had multiple tours of duty overseas as a U.S. Marine from 2017-2021. His experiences eventually led him to coaching. He's in his second season as an under-level football coach at McHenry Community High School.

Erected in November 1896, the DeKalb County Soldiers and Sailors Monument – a memorial dedicated in ode to Civil War veterans – has a long history, once complicated by theft.

Reza Jaddi said he is a huge champion of Wounded Warrior Project, Romeoville American Legion Post 52 and any veteran Jaddi happens to meet. He even bought a Humvee in 2017 to give the community an idea of "what our veterans used out in the field," he said.

James Patnode of Rochelle served in the United States Marines from 1965-1069. His service included two years in Vietnam.

The length of the walk was meant to symbolize the fact that 22 veterans or service members die by suicide daily, according to the American Legion.

McHenry High School teacher and U.S. Air Force veteran Tim Kirk wasn’t one of those being honored during this year’s local Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., but he said it was an honor to tag along.

Check out our photos from our Thank You Veterans special section in Grundy County for 2025.

Check out our photos from our Thank You Veterans special section in Kendall County for 2025.

Check out our photos from our Thank You Veterans special section in Will County for 2025.

Check out our photos from our Thank You Veterans special section in Kankakee County for 2025.

West Carroll football coach Abelardo Sustaita spent four years in the U.S. Marine Corps. He tries to each his players the values and lessons he learned in the military. It has led to success for the Thunder.

Check out our photos from our Thank You Veterans special section in McHenry County for 2025.

While national military cemeteries receive thousands of these wreaths, former military men and women are buried everywhere and in Joliet’s Woodlawn Memorial Park, a group of volunteers is working to make sure they are remembered, too.

Phyllis Clower hid her injury in the Army for six years to serve her country. Now she gives back to the community by volunteering with the organization who helped her get her life back on track.

The fanfare that Joey, a golden retriever with Canines 4 Christ, receives from many offers a stark contrast to how Vietnam veterans were initially greeted upon their return from war.

Since 2016, the McHenry VFW Post 4600 has poured money back into its hall at

For many veterans, the sense of service and desire to impact lives for the better didn’t stop when their military career ended.

Navy veteran Marylee Leu is serving her community after working as a U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman both home and abroad

Malavolti graduated from Putnam County High School in Granville in 1983 and chose to pursue an education the way many other young people have: he enlisted in the U.S. Navy with the intention of one day using the GI Bill to continue his education.

For many, efforts to thank U.S. veterans for their service don’t extend beyond the usual holidays and parades. But one Cortland man has taken it upon himself to make sure veterans aren’t forgotten long after their deaths.

Since retiring in 2017, after 34 years in the Illinois Air National Guard and the United States Air Force, Roger Masters has become a cheerleader of all things Henry.

Downers Grove veteran Jason Wales joined the Army after 9/11 and had a military career that included serving as an air traffic controller in Iraq

Downers Grove National Guard veteran now serves vets as the Quartermaster of Downers Grove VFW 503

Manteno teacher and softball coach Josh Carlile, known as "Sarge" to his players, has carried on the rich military tradition of his family with his life of service.

Private John Martin Steele was a Marine, a Gold Star veteran, and the namesake for the Morris VFW Post 6049. He enlisted Dec. 24, 1941 and served on the USS Lexington, a fleet carrier. His primary responsibility in his battle station was using an anti-aircraft gun.

Ken Ridgeway has a creed that he’s remained faithful to no matter his calling: give 110% in everything you do. He's lived that commitment as Plano High School groundskeeper, and carried that dedication overseas as a steam plant operator aboard ships in the U.S. Navy.

They are our neighbors, our teachers, our coaches, our friends. They carry stories of courage, sacrifice, and quiet strength – stories that continue to shape the places we call home

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Matthew Dolmyer works for the commission as a veterans service officer/veterans court liaison. Helping fellow veterans is something that he feels compelled to do.

Kankakee's Melanie McCummiskey works to support veterans and others with complex PTSD.

Up until two years ago, Robin Senesac said he didn’t think of himself as a veteran.

As the head of a very young Mendota family, Jason Donahue turned to Uncle Sam to put food on the table. He never regretted it.

Tonya Willey of Ottawa comes from a long line of proud military service but her service was different: she was a musician in the U.S. Army.

The iconic “I want you” poster was what inspired the late Marseilles native Marie Pometto Chase to become La Salle County’s first woman to enlist in the U.S. Navy during World War Two.