The Village of Justice and surrounding communities held multiple Memorial Day services Monday to honor military personnel who died in service, drawing residents and veterans to ceremonies across the southwest suburbs.
In Justice, Mayor Kris Wasowicz opened the 9 a.m. service at the Veterans & First Responders Memorial in Commissioners Park by thanking those present “for attending the ceremony to honor those who gave everything.”
Paula Kroll delivered the invocation, reminding the crowd that “the freedom and blessings we enjoy today are built upon the sacrifices, courage and dedication of many who came before us.”
U.S. Navy Petty Officer James M. Lurquin traced Memorial Day’s origins to Decoration Day, established after the Civil War in 1868 when Union General John A. Logan called for a national day to honor fallen soldiers. The holiday expanded after World War I to commemorate all American military deaths, Lurquin said.
“There’s no greater love than to give one’s life for another,” Lurquin told the gathering. “Our fallen comrades have demonstrated that love in giving their lives so that we may remain free.”
Wasowicz, whose son is a Marine who served in combat, said the annual ceremony reflects the village’s commitment to veterans.
“Everything we have, it’s because of their sacrifice,” Wasowicz said. “For it not to go to waste, we remember them every year.”
The Justice Police Department Honor Guard fired a rifle salute before the ceremony closed with Taps.
Robert E. Coulter Jr. American Legion Post 1941 in La Grange held services at six locations Monday morning, beginning at 8:30 a.m. at Lyons Township High School’s North Campus in La Grange, where names of local residents killed in service were read aloud.
The post then visited Parkhom Cemetery, the La Grange Park Veterans Memorial, Lyonsville Cemetery, the Village of Hodgkins Memorial site, and Countryside Memorial Park before returning to the post for a longer ceremony after noon.
Justice Memorial Day Ceremony 2026 Credit: Carol McGowan 
American Legion Post 1941 at Lyonsville Cemetery in Indian Head Park. Credit: Carol McGowan 
American Legion Post 1941 Countryside ceremony. Credit: Rose Mary Lopez 
Hodgkins Memorial Day 2026. Credit: Rose Mary Lopez 
Commander Kiddon led the Post ceremony. Credit: Carol McGowan 
Skylar Kiddon reads In Flanders Field at the Robert E. Coulter Jr. Post. Credit: Carol McGowan 
Attendees of the Coulter Post Memorial Day 2026 ceremony. Credit: Carol McGowan
At Lyonsville Cemetery in Indian Head Park, historian Sharon Comstock said the tradition stretches back to the Civil War.
“Civil War veterans would march down the hill and lay flowers on the graves of the Civil War dead,” Comstock said. “Every year we’ve been doing this.”
The cemetery is pursuing historic designation through the state of Illinois, with results expected this summer, Comstock added.
At the post’s main ceremony, Commander Kiddon honored service members lost across major conflicts, from Pearl Harbor to recent Middle East operations.
“We are here for the 2,300 service members who lost their lives during the attack on Pearl Harbor 85 years ago,” Kiddon said. “We are here for the 450,000 infantry and airmen who didn’t return from the South Pacific and European campaigns of World War II.”
Descendants of Robert E. Coulter Jr., a La Grange native for whom the post is named, laid memorial flowers. Coulter commanded a B-17 bombing group during World War II and was killed February 3, 1943, when his plane was shot down during a strategic bombing mission over North Africa.
All ceremonies were open to the public.