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‘He is about as dedicated as they come’ · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  He is about as dedicated as they come. Written by Tom Collins.
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  This article is being read by an automated voice brought to you
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  by Everlet. Philip Valle was and is a small man his drill
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  instructor teased him over his height and had the recruits stifling their
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  laughter but his comrades always underestimated his heart and courage.
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  The La Salle resident and Cedar Point native enlisted in the U.S.
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  Air Force smack in the middle of the Vietnam War and thus
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  put himself at significant risk. But as his peers soon discovered, he
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  was a patriotic man and there wasn’t a timid bone in his
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  body.
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  I was transferred to Southeast Asia in January of 1968. The Tet
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  Offensive happened the month that I got there, Valle recalled. Naturally, I
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  was nervous; but being a young man of 20 years old, I
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  almost looked forward to the excitement of it being there.
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  And some years after he returned from active duty, he took on
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  another military challenge: post chaplain for local VFW and legion posts. Though
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  Valle is not clergy and has never taken holy orders, his comrades
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  discovered he was a man of deep faith with the ability to
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  reach others in times of distress.
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  Phil is about as dedicated as they come, observed Tom Ptak, co-owner
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  of Ptak Funeral Home in Peru.
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  Ptak recalled a recent funeral where a U.S. Marine was laid to
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  rest and Valle, who delivered the tribute, visibly choked up.
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  That’s how passionate Phil is, Ptak said. It’s from the heart.
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  Valley modestly attributes his calling as chaplain to his young family life
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  and religious background. He came from a pious family and an active
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  parish, which gave him the formation to assist families in need.
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  When I see a grieving family, my heart goes out to them,
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  and if I can support them in any way, it makes me
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  feel good at heart, he said.
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  Valle had graduated high school and found work at Caterpillar in Aurora.
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  Then, there was a personal setback that put him at a crossroads.
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  Military service began to appeal to him. Valle enlisted in 1966 and
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  served basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas,
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  and completed technical school at Lowry Air Base in Denver, Colorado.
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  He then was transferred to McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas,
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  before his deployment to Southeast Asia. He had trained as a weapons
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  specialist but found himself not in Vietnam but in Thailand, where he
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  loaded bombs, rockets and missiles for pilots to strike the enemy.
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  I am very, very fortunate to be one of the servicemen that
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  came home whole in body and mind, Valle said. I did not
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  see hand-to-hand combat while I was there, but I did the job
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  that I was assigned to do.
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  I was proud of my time in the service. I was proud
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  of the people I served with and the people that I met
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  there, and the lessons that I learned there. I learned that integrity
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  is the most important thing in your life. No matter where you
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  go, no matter what age you are, you must maintain your personal
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  integrity to do what you say you want to do, and I
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  was able to support my country along with my fellow Air Force
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  and all veterans.
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  By the time his enlistment ran out in 1970, the politics had
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  shifted and the Vietnam War began to slowly wind down. Valle contemplated
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  whether to extend his service but decided to return to civilian life,
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  helped by a standing offer to return to Caterpillar. His closing rank
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  was staff sergeant, E-5.
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  Cat had a limited open-door policy for workers who left for military
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  service. Valle was home barely two weeks when he reapplied to Cat,
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  where he was rehired and would spend the next 35 years.
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  His first few years were busy with family life. He married Irma
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  and he is the father of five grown children. Their eldest, Mario,
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  made a career of service in the U.S. Marine Corps.
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  Over time, however, he became active in veterans groups. His comrades sussed
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  him out as a prayer warrior he’s a regular at Queen of
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  the Holy Rosary in La Salle and made him chaplain at several
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  units. These include VFW Post 4668 in La Salle and at VFW
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  District 9, encompassing north-central Illinois, as well as Peru Veterans Memorial Group.
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  In a perfect world, post chaplains would be ordained clergy with military
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  experience. Such individuals are scarce, however, so veteran groups typically search for
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  veterans who are steeped in their faiths and who possess a spirit
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  of service.
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  Dennis Znaniecki, commander of the Peru American Legion Post 375, said Valle
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  checked all the requisite boxes along with authenticity and unshakeable faith.
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  If you heard him speak, he brings it right from the heart,
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  Znaniecki said. There’s no baloney with Phil. He believes what he says.