LaGrange, IL – Field of Honor®2021
- This event has passed.
Flag sales have been completed for this event.
Unity * Community * Support
June 7 – 14, 2021
Denning Park
4903 Willow Springs Rd, LaGrange, IL 60525
Creating an awe-inspiring panorama, United States flags will fly in a solemn formation at Denning Park during June of 2021. This stirring display of 500 flags will bring the community together in a patriotic tribute to honor our heroes. Each U.S. flag represents an individual and tells a story. Flags may be sponsored to honor individuals currently serving in our military, veterans, first responders, essential workers, heroes in our lives, and hometown heroes. This unique event is the perfect opportunity for all of us to remember and honor our many heroes.
The Stars & Stripes reminds us of who we are as a people. Americans meet the challenges of history and overcome hardships becoming stronger. That is just who we are. The United States flag represents our solidarity in creating a brighter tomorrow and uniting us all.
“Unity * Community * Support” is the perfect theme for the LaGrange, IL Field of Honor® display hosted by Operation Support Our Troops-America, Inc. and LaGrange Park District.
This moving display is a gift to the community made possible through donations, sponsorships and the efforts of many dedicated volunteers. You can show your support and gratitude by sponsoring a flag or making a donation.
This is an experience hard to describe, but never to be forgotten. We invite all to visit the LaGrange, IL Field of Honor® patriotic display and walk with us among the posted flags. Additionally, the display will raise funds for programs of Operation Support Our Troops-America, Inc.
The display is open to all without charge. Don’t miss it!
Click Here to learn more about Operation Support Our Troops-America, Inc.
Event Sponsor
*********************************************************************************************************************************
Unity Sponsors
Anonymous
******************************************************************************************************************************
Community Sponsors
***********************************************************************************************************************************
Support Level
STRENING FAMILY
*********************************************************************************************************************************
IN KIND Sponsors
Field Gallery
In The News
WALK ON! IN MEMORY OF CHUCK PAPANOS IS SET FOR JULY 30
ByPN Editor
Tuesday, July 6, 2021
Above / The community is welcome to gather Friday evening, July 30, 2021, at the Grand Pavilion, located on the Riverwalk’s west end, to honor late park manager Chuck Papanos while raising funds in support of lymphoma research.
The inaugural Walk On! in Memory of Chuck Papanos, benefiting the Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF), will take place on Fri., July 30, beginning at the Riverwalk Grand Pavilion.
The 1.5 mile walk will take place on the west extension of the Riverwalk.
Registration will begin at 6PM with the walk stepping off at 7PM. To donate or participate, go to Lymphoma.org/NapervilleWalk.
Chuck Papanos touched more people than you can imagine, noted longtime friend and colleague Jan Erickson, former Riverwalk Administrator for the City of Naperville. Prior to his passing last summer, he managed the Naperville Riverwalk and the many community parks on the city’s north side.
For nearly 20 years, colleagues say, he was the “quiet hero” behind the Riverwalk’s care as well as events like the Riverwalk Art Fair, the Sprint Triathlon and the Healing Field of Honor.
In 2020, a PN flashback to the Field of Honor with 2009 American flags at Rotary Hill featured one of the all-volunteer special events under Chuck Papanos’ watch.
“You name it, he was there at 5AM making it happen,” said Erickson. “That included managing the logistics for all of the special events that happened on the Riverwalk including the Last Fling. He also was there to help with the day-to-day responsibilities of clearing snow, sandbagging for hours during floods at Centennial Beach and walking the 1.5-mile pathway to ensure that it was up to his high standards.”
Symptoms first surfaced in 2016
Erickson explained that Chuck began experiencing symptoms in 2016 and, in 2017, noticed a small growth below his jaw. He and his wife, Ann Marie, saw doctors at local hospitals and, eventually, Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Ann Marie says she believes their medical team did everything possible—but even so, it took 18 months to get a diagnosis.
“T-cell lymphoma is a cancer that’s notorious for hiding,” Ann Marie said. “Chuck decided that if we couldn’t change the course of his case, we could try to change the course for others. He participated in studies at Mayo Clinic and looked for other ways to help fight this lethal disease.”
In the months since her husband’s death from T-cell lymphoma, Ann Marie has been haunted by one question: What if he had been diagnosed earlier?
She’s building a coalition of friends, community members and Naperville leaders to find answers by raising money for research into new approaches to lymphoma diagnosis and treatment. Before his death, Chuck and Ann Marie chose to support the Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF) which has funded innovative research for 25 years.
“They were a great resource for us as far as education,” Ann Marie said. The LRF has also backed studies led by Chuck’s Mayo Clinic oncologist and hematologist, Dr. Gita Thanarajasingam.
The inaugural Walk On! in Memory of Chuck Papanos, benefiting the Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF), will take place on July 30, on the Riverwalk. Ann Marie is joined by friends and family, community organization members, city leaders, Chuck’s former park district colleagues—and also Dr. Thanarajasingam, leading oncologist at Mayo Clinic: Rochester.
Chuck had a saying: “Do nothing? Not an option!” With this walk the community will have the chance to do something for Chuck and for anyone else touched by lymphoma.
Hundreds of flags at LaGrange park raising money for veterans, first responders
Fox 32 Chicago
LA GRANGE, Ill. – There is a stunning sight stopping traffic in southwest suburban LaGrange.
Hundreds of American flags were being placed to honor our veterans, as well as first responders and medical personnel who got us through the pandemic.
Chicago Tribune
The Park District of La Grange and an organization that supports military personnel will create a field of flags this June in Denning Park.
Operation Support Our Troops-America plans to set up 500 American flags in Denning Park, across from Lyons Township High School’s South Campus.
Benefiting Charities:
Operation Support Our Troops-America
Hosted By:
Operation Support Our Troops-America, Inc.
LaGrange Park District
Local Organizing Committee:
Project Chair: Eugenia Callison
OSOT-America Executive Director: Scott Maxson
Fundraiser Chair: Sue Liston
Public Relations Chair: Linda Tuisl
Volunteer Chair: Christine Parritore
Field Coordinator Chair: Chris Finn
Sponsorship: Jannine Sullivan
