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Streator Honor Guard continues to serve · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Streeter Honor Guard continues to serve. Written by Derek Bericello This
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  article is being read by an automated voice brought to you by
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  Everlet. A dozen veterans gathered on a Saturday afternoon across three bar
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  tables at the Streator American Legion Post.
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  The aroma of fresh popcorn filled the lounge area, and a variety
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  of beverages rested on the tables. The broadcast of college football games
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  on a pair of television sets was barely audible.
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  What could be heard more clearly were the booming voices of the
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  veterans, sharing stories and teasing each other.
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  They had returned from a military funeral service the 27th for the
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  year.
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  Every veteran is entitled to a military funeral.
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  That right is taken seriously by the group of 15 men serving
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  in the Streator American Legion Post 217 and Long Point American Legion
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  Post 1217 Honor Guard.
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  It’s very important to us, said Navy veteran Mark Lowe, who is
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  the reader during services. We’re a close-knit bunch of guys.
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  A military funeral includes a reading memorized by Lowe, as well as
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  the flag folding handled by Vietnam veterans Doug Patterson Sr. And Bob
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  Harrison. A rifle salute is conducted, and a lone bugle is played
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  by veteran Tom Rice.
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  The Honor Guard also presents the colors at veteran events and in
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  parades, but providing military funeral services is their most important duty.
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  We pay our respect to servicemen, said Reno Pence Sr, commander of
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  the Honor Guard. It is nice to see the family get that
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  honor, to have it passed on to them, that their relative fought
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  for this country and earned that respect. It’s truly an honor.
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  Streator area veterans Ron Tardio, Steve Crank, Kenny Pozzie, Bob Babczak, Randy
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  Fink, Jerry Longnecker, Jack Graham, Gary Hiltabrand, Jim Ashlock and Gene Carson
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  make up the Honor Guard.
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  The number of veterans receiving military funerals has gone down over the
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  years, Rice said. A whiteboard at the Legion keeps a tally and
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  indicates when the next services are scheduled, along with which members can
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  be there.
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  Rice recalls one year there were 64 military funerals and he played
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  his bugle at every one of them.
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  An Air Guard veteran from 1958 to 1965, serving from when the
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  Berlin Wall was built to the Bay of Pigs, Rice holds one
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  of the most unique roles on the Honor Guard. He began playing
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  the trombone as a young child and shared his talents as the
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  Streator Grade School band instructor for decades. He also assisted the Streator
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  High School Marching Band.
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  This is special, said Rice, who is 90 years old. It’s a
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  sight to see everyone handle their duty and perform their service. What
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  Mark does with the reading is special.
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  From the repetition of dozens of services, Lowe has memorized a script
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  that has been passed down locally.
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  Our reading is unique, Lowe said. I have the script left with
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  Reno, so that it can be preserved and continue to be passed
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  on.
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  Pence said it is important to bring new members into the Honor
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  Guard to maintain the tradition. He was happy the Long Point American
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  Legion merged with Streator to keep numbers strong. He does admit, however,
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  the group is aging, pointing to Graham, who is 62, as one
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  of its youngest members.
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  We have members in their 70s, 80s and 90s, Pence said. We’ll
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  need others to fill our shoes.
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  Crank, the Streator American Legion’s commander, said the Honor Guard is a
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  source of pride for the post and generates camaraderie.
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  It’s important we all provide a service for our fellow veterans, Crank
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  said. But it’s also a time we can be social. We all
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  have a lot of the same experiences and it helps to be
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  around each other to keep us healthy, to give us someone to
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  talk to. I’m glad we can do that here.
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  Lowe reiterated that every veteran is entitled to a military service. Families
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  of deceased veterans can call the American Legion Post to arrange it
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  or notify their funeral home.
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  We are glad to provide it, Lowe said. We also invite any
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  veterans to check us out. It’s both rewarding and humbling.