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Len Sherwinski described World War II veteran Herman Richardson as a “quiet but strong man.” Richardson, who turned 100 on Aug. 9, stood proudly with his WWII veteran’s hat on top of his head, as applause rang out for him at the site dedication ceremony for the future Lake County World Wars I and II Veterans and Holocaust Memorial held Saturday. The event, under a gray, cloud-filled sky, was held in Sauerman Woods Park in Crown Point, where the future memorial will be located. The memorial will include two towers with the names of those who died from each war, plus local Holocaust victims, an orientation area for groups, an amphitheater, and a walkway with 15 chapters describing America’s role during the 30-year period. “My hope is Mr. Richardson will be here on the day we dedicate the memorial,” said Sherwinski, a Crown Point resident who works as an ambassador for Honor Flight Chicago. Another World War II veteran, PFC Walter Spuck, age 97, was also to be honored but couldn’t make the event “because he was under the weather,” Sherwinski said. Mitch Barloga, president of the Friends of the Veterans Memorial Parkway, said the memorial, once completed, will honor the approximately 1,000 fallen soldiers in Lake County who served during both World Wars. “Keep in mind, World War I and World War II are a continuous story. We want to tell that story and the story of the Lake County veterans who sacrificed their lives,” Barloga said. “We plan to work around the pond, installing memorials for both World Wars and the Holocaust. We also plan to have an installation at the end of the pond with the names of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. We hope to install that piece right away,” Barloga said. In addition to honoring both World Wars, the memorial will be the first of its kind in Northwest Indiana to pay tribute to the victims of the Holocaust, where approximately 11 million innocent civilians were murdered by the Nazi regime, including six million Jews, Barloga said. Guest speakers at the event included Crown Point Mayor Pete Land, who said the site for the memorial was moved to Sauerman Woods Park three years ago with the help of former Mayor David Uran. “We are here today to give something special not only to the city but to the region,” Land said. He said he hopes that the memorial will be a place where folks can come “to remember the men and women who paid a high price for us. My hope is that this location will stand for all generations…. It will be a special and unique place where solemn remembrances will be intertwined with a child’s laughter.” Former Crown Point Mayor James Metros also spoke during the program. Metros, wearing his late father’s World War II hat, said: “I wanted a piece of him here today.” He referenced a speech given by former President Abraham Lincoln on Nov. 19, 1863, in which he said: “That these dead shall not have died in vain. That this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom.” Metros said victims of the Holocaust were freed by World War II veterans, called the greatest generation, because they saved the world. “We are here to honor them today,” Metros said. He recalled in 1992, as a young mayor, he went to his veteran dad to ask him what he should say at a Memorial Day event. “This is Memorial Day. It’s not about me,” Metros said his dad told him. Instead, his dad told him it was about those who were killed, like a fellow serviceman he saw shot in the throat and killed while serving in Okinawa. “Today isn’t about me; it’s about him. He didn’t come home,” Metros recalled his dad telling him. Metros, referring to the Crown Point High School Choir, which sang at the event, said young people need to be reminded every single day of the sacrifices made. “If we don’t remember how we got here, we will fail,” he said. Rosalie Levinson, a former professor at Valparaiso University from the NW Indiana Jewish Federation, said she is grateful to Barloga and all those who decided to include Holocaust victims in the memorial project. “This has special significance for me as I’m the child of two Holocaust survivors,” she said. Levinson said her father, who was beaten and starved by the Nazis, barely survived. Her four grandparents, several aunts, uncles and cousins were all murdered along with six million Jews. “Eighty years later and the worldwide population (of Jews) still hasn’t recovered,” Levinson said. Today Jews comprise only 0.2 percent of the world’s population, she said. Levinson said the significance of the future memorial is reflected in two slogans: Never Forget and Never Again. “Both originated with the Holocaust,” she said. She said the memorial will be a reminder that we should never forget the brave American soldiers who gave their lives in World Wars I and II to save democracy. On May 4, 1945, her father was liberated by American soldiers. “It was our brave soldiers who basically saved my father’s life,” she said. Two years later, after his liberation, he came to the United States. “Later, this country and this democracy gave him the opportunity to start a new life,” she said. Levinson also spoke of the antisemitism at universities and the 200% increase in hate-filled slurs posted on the internet. “The grave need for education on the Holocaust has never been more important,” she said. For more information on the project, go to www.vetparkway.com or contact the Friends of the Veterans Memorial Parkway at vetparkway95@gmail.com. Deborah Laverty is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
