Riverside American Legion Post 488 will host its annual Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 29 at 10 a.m. in the St. Paul VI Parish Hall at St. Mary School, 97 Herrick Road in Riverside.
In addition to the presentation of a Gold Star Citation to the family of U.S. Navy Lt. Richard Jicka, who was killed while serving in the South Pacific during World War II, the names of all 54 Riverside residents who died while serving overseas in the Armed Forces will be read aloud.
The Legion will also honor retired Command Sgt. Maj. Frank W. Gresik, a Riverside resident who served in the U.S. Army for 29 years, from 1987 to 2016. Gresik served on active duty through 1992 in South Korea and California before entering service in the Army Reserve.
In 2005, he was promoted to command sergeant major at the 17th Psychological Operations Battalion. In 2009-10, Gresik served overseas in Iraq and also for a time in Afghanistan with the 16th Psychological Operations Task Force. He was part of a two-person command team that led the largest psychological operations task force that was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Among the decorations awarded to Gresik were the Bronze Star, Army Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster and the Army Superior Unit Award.
Among those participating in the ceremony are local veterans, representatives from Riverside churches, scouting organizations, schools, emergency personnel, Riverside American Legion Post 488 and its Sons of the American Legion auxiliary.
Legion Post 488 will also hold a Navy Wreath Ceremony at 1 p.m. on May 29 at the Gold Star Memorial in Guthrie Park, across Bloomingbank Road from the Riverside train station.
They’ll place a wreath into the Des Plaines River to honor those from Riverside who died while serving in foreign wars.
