GRAYSLAKE A recent $5,000 donation from the Military Order of the World Wars has put College of Lake County one step closer to completion of its Veterans Memorial.
In 2006, Wayne Maczko, stationary engineer for the college and U.S. Army Veteran, decided he wanted to see some sort of veterans memorial on the Grayslake-campus. He began going through the process of getting approval, as well as designing the memorial in 2007. Maczko was inspired by a photo from Arlington Cemetery on Memorial Day. In it, a man is in a squatting position in front of a marker about ready to place a flag.
Located on the west side of the College of Lake County campus in Grayslake, Willow Lake Veterans Memorial Park is just missing its soldier. The $5,000 donation will go toward the roughly $60,000 needed to complete the bronze soldier. When completed, the soldier will be about one and one-third the size of an actual person.
It was a natural fit for Maczko, who comes from a highly decorated military family himself, to take charge of the project.
Its personal to me to get these guys recognized forever, Maczko said.
Maczko served in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1972 and spent 32 months in Germany.
According to the College of Lake County Institutional Effectiveness and Research Office, the college had a total of 597 veterans and active military all-credit students as of the fall 2014 census. This includes 585 college-level military students and 12 adult education military students. The school also has 30 non-credit students with military status.
The mission of the memorial is to honor all of those who have courageously served their country.
To make a donation, or for information on how to purchase a Veterans Memorial Brick, visit www.clcillinois.edu/gateway/military/veterans-memorial.
Weve had a long history at the college of wanting to support the veterans, said Evelyn Schiele, executive director of public relations and marketing for College of Lake County. “They are an important student population and its important to honor their service, and the service of their relatives, and even the service of our employees.
Schiele said the recent donation from the Military Order of the World Wars is very generous and will help the college to meet its goal of completing the memorial.
