Kids & Family

On Memorial Day, Remember Our Fallen Soldiers

Almost five years ago, New Lenox lost two residents in wars in the Middle East.

This Saturday is the five-year anniversary of the death of Jacob Lowell, a New Lenox resident who was serving in Afghanistan. Phillip Brodnick died later that year, in August 2007, in Iraq. 

These are just two of the countless people who have died while serving their country. We should remember them and honor them this Memorial Day. 

Memorial Day is always the last Monday of May, so the signs of summer are evident: pool parties, barbecues, a day off work. But it's a day to remember the war dead, and in the "Home of Proud Americans" we should do that, especially with the five-year anniversary of two recently fallen soldiers. 

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This year the local and will have a wreath-laying at Maplewood Cemetery, which is at the corner of Haven Avenue and Oak Drive in New Lenox. The ceremony is at 11 a.m. 

New Lenox had a special Memorial Day celebration last year when the Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall paid a visit to the American Legion. 

Find out what's happening in New Lenoxwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The village is no stranger to honoring veterans, with countless welcome-home parties orchestrated in the community and a . 

But it's the war dead who are traditionally remembered on Memorial Day, and Jacob Lowell and Phillip Brodnick are two of the most recent residents who sacrificed their lives for the country. 

Brodnick died Aug. 22, 2007, while returning from combat in Iraq. He was a corporal in the U.S. Army, attached to 2nd Battalion 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Bridgade Combat Team and 25th Infantry Division, according to a resolution approved by the New Lenox Township.

Lowell died June 2, 2007, during small-arms fire in Afghanistan. He was a specialist in the U.S. Army, attached to the 173rd Airborne Bridgade. .

"I think about him every day, so there’s not going to be closure no matter who they capture," she said. "Hopefully he’s up there, though, seeing who they get. Maybe it would be closure for him.”

Read more news about veterans in our community


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