Honoring Naperville’s heroes isn’t just for those stepping up in moments of emergency. It’s also about ensuring those who’ve sacrificed for our freedom are never forgotten or taken for granted.
Naperville has a huge heart for military veterans. This year, NCTV17 covered two extraordinary stories that brought generations together in the most heartwarming of ways.
Alma Jones from the Rotary Club of Naperville and Carey Peterson, a teacher at Metea Valley High School, were interviewed for NCTV17’s “The Morning Show” to talk about how the Naperville Community always stands up for its veterans.
Quilts of Valor
With kindness and gratitude in every stitch, two World War II veterans were wrapped in special quilts this past July.
Ray Svejnoha and Peter Pierro – both over 100 years old – were each awarded a Quilt of Valor, an honor reserved only for select military members who served in active conflict.
Alma Jones, with the Rotary Club of Naperville, brought the tradition to Naperville 10 years ago.
“I attended my high school reunion in Pratt, Kansas, about 11 years ago and ran into my high school typing teacher, who was my favorite, and found out that he had just been awarded a Quilt of Valor. I had no idea what that meant. And when I asked him about it, his response was, you know, that is the first time that I was thanked since I returned from Vietnam,” said Jones. “That exchange left me speechless, and I knew that when I returned to Naperville, our Rotary Club had to create an annual program to honor Veterans in the community in a similar way.”
The Naperville Rotary Club created an annual program around Veterans Day each year, and ten years later they’ve awarded 72 Veterans from all branches of the service, including “100+ years young” Ray Svejnoha, and with six more Veterans honored on November 5 in an Annual Rotary program.
A prom night to remember
Before he was wrapped in a Quilt of Valor, Svejnoha attended prom a few decades late.
The WWII veteran was called to service before he could attend his senior prom.
Carey Peterson, a teacher at Metea Valley High School, learned about Svejnoha through a club she started at school called “Tech Connect – Bridges Generations,” which partners students with senior citizens to help them with technology.
She enlisted her students for help: sophomores Ela Kshirsagar, Prakriti Kashyap, Aasvi Chokshi, Niia Lopez, Medha Kotagiri, and freshman Zoe Zhao. The students put together a promposal to bring Svejnoha to the dance.
“At prom, I had so many students who were so excited to come and talk to Ray and just really engage with him, and it was just an amazing thing to see happen,” said Peterson.
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