Nov. 11--Military veterans and politicians packed into the city's annual Veterans Day ceremony at Soldier Field, calling on Chicagoans to work to make sure people who have served in the armed forces have jobs and places to live.
The event served as a chance for veterans groups and city officials to honor Ald. James Balcer, 11th, who is stepping down at the end of this term after 18 years on the City Council.
Balcer, who served in the Marine Corps in Vietnam, has said his decision not to run for re-election is due in part to his need to address the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder he suffers going back to his time in combat.
But Balcer told the crowd that assembled outside on a wet, chilly morning near the doughboy statue at the south entrance of the stadium that he was heartened by his ability to help other veterans who were having difficulties.
"I was a disgruntled Vietnam vet who came back. I was mad at the world," Balcer said. "Man, I was mad. I couldn't get a job. I knew what unemployment was. I knew what it was to get refused for a job, security guard, everything."
Balcer said his mother urged him to get into politics, and he said he tried never to refuse a request from a fellow veteran.
Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner and Gov. Pat Quinn were together at the ceremony for the first time since Rauner defeated Quinn in the Nov. 4 election. Quinn spoke briefly from the stage about the importance of making sure veterans get the health care and job training they need. Rauner looked on from the crowd, but the two did not interact with one another.
After the ceremony, Quinn departed quickly without taking questions, while Rauner did not respond to repeated questions about whether he and Quinn have had discussions since the election.
Returning to the theme of fighting homelessness among veterans that he has touched on repeatedly in the past year, Mayor Rahm Emanuel delivered remarks calling for adequate housing for people who have served in the armed forces.
The mayor was scheduled to visit a veterans housing development later Tuesday in the Gresham neighborhood.
Meanwhile, in Bronzeville on Tuesday morning, veterans lined Martin Luther King Drive from 43rd Street to 35th Street despite driving rain and chilly conditions for the 88th annual Bronzeville Veterans Day Parade.
"I've waited in worse rain than this. It was called a monsoon," one Vietnam veteran joked.
Among those paying their respects was Otto Palmer, 71, who served in the Illinois Army National Guard for 11 years. Palmer said he comes to the parade each year to honor retired military members and to remember those who died serving their country.
"My best friend was killed in Vietnam, so I remember him on this day," Palmer said. "His name was Kenneth Dwight Morgan, and I'll never forget him."
A procession of about 1,500 Junior ROTC members from 12 schools marched along King Drive with flags of the U.S. military branches and ones honoring vets, including a POW/MIA flag that read: "You are not forgotten."
The groups were expected to hold a special presentation at the Victory Monument, a tribute to the 8th Infantry Regiment of the Illinois National Guard, an African-American unit based in Bronzeville that fought under French command in World War I.
Because of the rain, the event was moved one block away to the Chicago Military Academy, the former home of the 8th Regiment.
Francois Pellerin, deputy consulate general of France in Chicago, told students that the 137 African-American soldiers killed in World War I are still remembered overseas.
"Those American soldiers saved us, and we will never forget them," Pellerin told the Junior ROTC members standing in formation with their hands clasped behind their backs. "I want you to know, for us, the French people, they are heroes."
Parade organizer retired Col. Eugene Scott said the event is to honor those who served, but he also emphasized its importance in passing along history to the next generation. The parade was founded by members of the first black American Legion post to honor World War I veterans, Scott said.
"We are so blessed in the Chicago area and in particular in Bronzeville to have so much history," Scott said. "And our charge as dignitaries, elected officials and myself is to maintain it and teach it to our young people."
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