Community Corner

Niles Honors Veterans And Memories On Drizzly Day

Speakers salute the sacrifice veterans made to keep American freedoms.

Many of the veterans and citizens who attended Monday's Veterans Day Ceremony in Niles had their own memories of combat or service as they watched the observance.

For Gene Kuffel of Niles, the memories were of a cousin, Richard Gleich, who served in World War 2 and was killed. 

"I can only presume he's buried overseas," said Kuffel, a Korean War veteran. "I was only 10 or 11, and I think the family didn't want to burden me, because they didn't discuss it much. But his mother is buried right here in St. Adalbert's Cemetery."

Ben Puesta, a U.S. Navy veteran who participated in the VFW Post 7712 of Niles color guard, had the present more on his mind, even though he had participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. He invited veterans to participate in the veterans' organization.

"We welcome veterans of any war. We'd like their support. We're there to help other veterans," he said.

"The camaraderie we've had in the post has been strong, and we'd like to maintain that."

In his address to the veterans and citizens Monday, Niles Mayor Andrew Przybylo said, "We join together to celebrate those who made our freedom possible. I stand here before you few local veterans, humbled and graced for your service."

Like Niles-Morton Grove Patch on Facebook and sign up to get Niles and Morton Grove news and alerts in a free daily email from Patch. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here