Fallen Soldiers Phillip Brodnick, Jacob Lowell Honored at New Lenox American Legion

It's been about five years since Bernadine Lowell and Marian Stockhausen have seen their sons. 

Five years, and not one day goes by without thinking about Jacob Lowell or Phillip Brodnick, New Lenox residents who died in 2007 while serving their country in wars in the Middle East. 

Bernadine Lowell thinks about Jacob's smile. She thinks about her other two children, who are both married, and how Jacob won't ever get to have that kind of life. Marian Stockhausen said she honors Phillip's memory "every day, in our hearts, any way we can." 

"Part of me thought people would start to forget," Bernadine Lowell said. "Five years, to a lot of people, is a long time. To us it seems like it happened yesterday."

No one's forgetting their sacrifice. Not in this community, which carries the slogan "Home of Proud Americans." On Monday, the held a Memorial Day ceremony to rename its banquet hall the "Jacob Lowell Phillip Brodnick Memorial Hall," forever memorializing their service to the country. 

"All you want is for their memory to live on, and this does just that," Marian Stockhausen said. "It was a beautiful ceremony."

Marian and Bill Stockhausen, as well as Bernadine and Raymond Lowell, cut a ribbon while surrounded by post members and Mayor Tim Baldermann to officially dedicate the Legion's banquet hall. Lowell and Brodnick are memorialized at other places in town, including parks and schools. 

Earlier in the day, a couple hundred people gathered at Maplewood Cemetery, where members of the and American Legion participated in a wreath-laying and gun salute. Various flowers and a wreath were put on a headstone dedicated by the VFW that serves as a memory of all those who have served the country.  

Then the crowds moved to the American Legion, which is named after another resident who was killed in action: Tom Hartung, who died in 1966 while serving with the U.S Army in Vietnam. Lowell and Brodnick both died in 2007 and this week joined the lasting legacy at the Legion. 

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. 

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.

"Instead of thinking of their absence with bitterness and heavy hearts, we are here today to honor them," former Legion commander Craig Phillips said. "They paid the ultimate sacrifice, and we owe them more than one day."

Mayor Baldermann said Memorial Day also served as a time to thank the families of service members who have made sacrifices.

"Every day they go through the pain of knowing that their young sons, and in other cases young daughters, are gone so that we could live freely," Baldermann said. "That's something we can never, ever take for granted. Thank you for their sacrifice. They are never forgotten."

Bernadine Lowell reciprocated the gratitude and said the response of the community over the last five years has helped the memory of her son last. 

"We've been very fortunate to receive so much support from the community," she said. "We're very blessed to live in the town we do."