Gold Star family member: We remember the Illinois fallen 'until we take our last breath'

The picture of Sgt. Robert Weinger worn by his mother, Sue Wieczorek Sunday, showed the U.S. Army veteran playfully wearing a pirate's hat and playing with a number of kids props.

"I kind of like to keep this memory to myself," said Wieczorek of Crystal Lake, Illinois, "but this year I thought I would bring it out and it's a good thing because he's here today."

Weinger and two other members of his battalion from Woodstock, Illinois, and another Air Force serviceman were killed when their vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2009 after returning from a mission.

Wieczorek and her now husband Ray Wieczorek were part of Sunday's celebration of life service for Gold Star Families as part of Veterans Day at the Illinois State Fair.

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The day also included a parade for veterans.

Sue Wieczorek said they have made the trip annually from McHenry County, just northwest of Chicago, out of tribute to Weigner, a fun-loving 24-year-old known as "Beemer."

"We love driving and we love road trips, but it means that even though he's not physically here, he's still here in our hearts and every time his name is mentioned, he's still alive," Wieczorek said of her son.

Weigner joined the Army in 2006 and one of his duties was guarding former Iraq president Saddam Hussein until his execution in late 2006. Weigner was on his second deployment in the Army when he was killed.

As part of the service, Gold Star family members received a yellow rose from First Lady MK Pritzker as the names of their loved ones were called out. The roses were then laid at the battlefield cross.

Other veterans who came out to Sunday's service talked about honoring other fallen military men and women.

Gene Walker, a U.S. Navy veteran from Springfield, lost his brother, U.S. Marine Corps Private First Class Medford Adarine Chrysler, at the Battle of Quang Tri Province in Vietnam on July 2, 1967.

Walker said his younger brother wanted to follow him into the service.

A grenade launcher ahead of his brother's platoon got machine-gunned, Walker recalled. Walker had to identify his brother in a body bag at a Pacifica, California, cemetery.

"The only way I identified my brother was from a bulldog tattoo on his right forearm," Walker recalled.

"I come to honor all my military brothers and sisters, not just my brother," said Walker, a member of VFW Lafore Lock Post 755 in Springfield. "It's my duty."

Ray Nicklin of Chillicothe said the service is an annual trip for him.

The Marine Corps veteran who served from 1971 to 1978 said he supports a number of veterans programs, like Disabled Veterans of Americans and the Wounded Warrior Project.

"As a veteran, when I came from Vietnam, we didn't get the welcome (veterans) get nowadays,"Nicklin said. "The more I can do for veterans, it makes me feel good. They're finally getting the respect that's way overdue."

Mike Malmstrom, a Marine Corps veteran from Moline, said he is worried that not enough young people are involved in services like Sunday's.

Malmstrom has been involved in a number of veterans group, including serving as president of Bridging the Gap, Stand Down for Homeless Veterans in Rock Island County.

"Some of us have been doing it long enough that there's always the possibility that next year we won't be here," Malmstrom said. "We need to get the young folks involved.

"It's a brotherhood of camaraderie. Without that camaraderie, we don't have anything."

Terry Prince, director of Illinois Departments of Veterans' Affairs and a 31-year Navy veteran, promised "the memories of your fallen heroes, my fellow veterans who've worn the cloth of our nation, drives my every effort. We pay recognition to the dead by serving the living and serving them well with everything we have to offer in some small hope that this effort may bring some comfort that your loss does not go unrecognized."

Gov. JB Pritzker said there was no greater commitment "in the name of our nation than our military personnel. I know there are no words to heal the irreparable wound of loss, but I want you to know that I grieve with you along with the millions of people of this state. We stand with you in remembrance of the heroes taken from us far too soon and we will never forget their sacrifice and service to our state and to our nation."

Among those area servicemen recognized at Sunday's service were Army Sgt. Andrew R. Tobin of Jacksonville, who was killed on Aug. 24, 2011, in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, and Staff Sgt. Matthew W. Weikert, also of Jacksonville, who was killed on July 7, 2010, while serving with the Army near Orgun, Afghanistan.

Ray Wieczorek said he would keep showing up for events for Weinger "until we've joined him."It's not just him. It's for all of them," he added. "They always say a person dies two deaths: first when they physically take their last breath and then a second time when their name is uttered for the last time. We want to make sure that not only Bob's name, but all of our Illinois fallen are not forgotten until we take our last breath."

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Veterans, Gold Star Families remember fallen heroes at IL State Fair