Recent legislation passed in Springfield, kickstarted by a Naperville veteran, will help give proper recognition to fallen servicemembers.
After years of efforts from Judd Kendall VFW Post 3873 Commander Staci Boyer, House Bill 4934 was signed into law last month.
It changes language in the Illinois legislation to ensure graves of veterans who have been deceased for more than a century can be appropriately maintained and marked.
Judd Kendall VFW Post 3873 Commander Staci Boyer
Memorial Day flags lead to the Adopt a Veterans Grave Project
Every Memorial Day, VFW Post 3873 members visit the Naperville Cemetery to pay their respects to fallen veterans, placing American flags on their graves.
Three years ago, Boyer, who was then serving as a junior vice commander in the Naperville VFW, noticed something different about veteran graves that had been there for decades.
“There (are) 35 (veteran) graves in the Naperville Cemetery. At that time the directions were, ‘Look for this beautiful family monument and then take 14 paces to the left and look down for a pile of rocks and debris, and that’s the veterans’ graves.’ And I was like, ‘Are you serious? Okay this is totally unacceptable,’” said Boyer.
From there, Boyer, who served in the Navy as a hospital corpsman for 12 years, was determined to do right by the veterans and their families.
She started an initiative – the Adopt a Veterans Grave Project – which aimed to raise funds to refurbish the markers of fallen servicemembers from Naperville.
Once word spread, several local businesses and organizations jumped on board and started raising funds, including the Naperville North Veterans Club, which helped fundraise for the first repaired marker.
It belonged to Edward W. Hiltz, one of seven from Naperville who died in France during World War I. Edward’s nephew and army veteran, Rod Hiltz, gave Boyer the green light to fix his uncle’s marker, which was completed by Memorial Day earlier this year.
“Next of kin” language provides a roadblock for Boyer’s project
However, Boyer’s movement would hit a roadblock after the initial success with Edward W. Hiltz’s marker.
After researching Illinois burial laws, Boyer found she needed approval from a fallen veteran’s family member to alter or replace an existing headstone.
“A lot of these people died when they were in the war,” Boyer said. “25 (years old), never came home, never even carried on their legacy, so there are no next of kin.”
The legal hurdle led Boyer to connect with State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, who spent four years in the Marine Corps. With Kifowit’s help, House Bill 4934 was drafted this past February.
“(Kifowit) goes the extra mile to make sure that (veterans) are looked after, taken care of,” Boyer said. “She listens to our ideas, and she’s really the boots on the ground for what we want to do to make change.”
The legislation would amend the Cemetery Protection Act, allowing Illinois veterans organizations to revive or place markers on the graves of veterans who have been deceased for more than 100 years.
The bill would allow gravestone alteration or creation as long as a “good faith” effort was made to contact the deceased’s family.
House Bill 4934 signed into law
Boyer traveled down to Springfield back in March to advocate for House Bill 4934 with Kifowit. It passed unanimously through the Illinois House, and Senate, and was signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker on August 14.
“It means everything because I love seeing something from the beginning carry through,” said Boyer.
The VFW Post 3873 has identified seven more graves of deceased veterans in the Naperville Cemetery, and Boyer said the group aims to complete all the markers by Memorial Day next year.
Additional advocacy on behalf of local veterans
She’s also addressing the issue of Naperville veterans with damaged graves that are not over 100 years old.
“I raised money to have bricks and graves, so we could install those next to the branch of service podium and the memorial section of the Naperville Cemetery, so they could be properly honored with their names being legible on the bricks because their graves were not legible,” said Boyer.
Boyer said the Naperville VFW has raised over $12,000 for her initiative over the past three years, and said she’s inspired to see the dedication to preserving the legacy of local veterans.
“Everybody wanted to help, everybody was on board,” said Boyer. “We have an amazing community here in Naperville, and they’re very focused on veteran initiatives, and they all rally and come together,” said Boyer.
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