Copyright Chicago Tribune
A number of events are planned to honor Veterans Day in the Aurora area. Aurora will hold its annual Veterans Day Parade beginning at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11, at the intersection of Downer Place and Water Street in downtown Aurora. The parade will feature local veterans groups and military organizations, including the Aurora Veterans Advisory Council, Roosevelt Aurora American Legion Post 84, Fox Valley Marines Detachment 1233, the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Commission, according to a press release from the city of Aurora about the parade. Following the conclusion of the parade at Downer Place and Stolp Avenue, a brief ceremony will take place at approximately 10:45 A.M. in front of the Grand Army of the Republic Military Museum at 23 E. Downer Place, according to the release. Speaking at the ceremony will be U.S. Air Force veteran and current Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) instructor at West Aurora High School Scott Hellinger. Hellinger served as a Security Forces specialist in the Air Force, according to the release. He earned multiple military decorations, including the Air Force Achievement Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal, officials said. Hellinger was also selected to serve as the chief enlisted advisor overseeing the Comprehensive Airman Fitness Master Resilience Training Course, helping to teach and prepare more than 2,500 airmen across the Air Force, the release said. Today, Hellinger teaches grades nine through 12 as an aerospace science instructor for West Aurora’s AFJROTC, leading its drill team to back-to-back United States Air Force National Championships in 2022 and 2023, officials said. The village of North Aurora will hold its annual Veterans Day ceremony at 11 a.m. Nov. 11 at the Veterans Memorial at Willow Way Drive and Fairfield Drive. The annual St. Charles Veterans Day ceremony is set for 10:30 a.m. Nov. 11 at Fire Station 1, 112 N. Riverside Ave. in St. Charles. The ceremony, which is open to the public, will include the national anthem, invocation, remarks, gun salute and taps performance, organizers said. “On Veterans Day we come together as a community to say ‘thank you’ to our veterans for their selfless service to our country,” said St. Charles Mayor Clint Hull in a press release about the ceremony. “We hope everyone will join us in honoring all who served.”
