Arab Americans participate in Orland Park Memorial Day Commemoration May 25, 2026
By Ray Hanania
Leaders of the Arab American community joined in the celebration of Memorial Day in Orland Park on Monday, May 25, 2026, led by Mayor Jim Dodge and including former Consolidated School District 230 Board member and current member of the Orland Fire Protection District Personnel Board Mohammed Jaber, and American Arab Chamber of Commerce President Hassan Nijem.
Memorial Day commemorates the Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States observed on the last Monday of May. It is dedicated to mourning and honoring all American military personnel who died while serving in the armed forces.
Originally known as “Decoration Day,” it began in 1868 as a way for Union veterans to decorate the graves of fallen Civil War soldiers with flowers and flags. Following World War I, the day was expanded to honor all American service members who have died in any war or conflict.
More than 100,000 Arab Americans have served in the U.S. Military with some serving during the Civil War in the 1860s, through World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and subsequent wars in recent years.
“We are deeply honored to stand alongside Village of Orland Park Mayor Jim Dodge, the Board of Trustees, the Clerk of Orland Park, and the Village of Orland Park Veterans Advisory Board to pay tribute to all who have served and sacrificed. On behalf of the Arab and Muslim community, it is our privilege to honor this sacred day. We are proud to represent all Americans — who have bravely fought and defended this great nation.Their courage and sacrifice are woven into the fabric of American history. We are grateful to the Village of Orland Park, Mayor Jim Dodge the entire Board, and Village of Orland Park Veterans Advisory Board recognizing ALL veterans who have given so much in service to this nation. Thank you to every veteran and their families. We will not forget your sacrifice,” Nijem said.
“The Dodge Administration has restored respect to everyone in Orland Park including Arab Americans, the way it should always be. We especially thank Mayor Dodge, Trustees Dina Lawrence, John Lawler and Joanna M. Liotine Leafblad, Village Clerk Mary Ryan Norwell and the Veterans Commission for serving and respecting all of the residents of the Village of Orland Park, including the Arab American community.”
Jaber said, “We are very proud to be residents of Orland Park and the Southwest Suburbs, serving the public at large and recognizing everyone’s rights. It is important to recognize the sacrifices that have been made by all of the veterans who fought to defend this country. We commemorate their sacrifice, all of them.”
The event took place at Ara Pacé (Place of Peace) located outside Village Hall at 14700 S. Ravinia Ave. in Orland Park.
Among the Orland Park village officials who attended were trustees who support all of the residents of Orland Park regardless of race or religion or national origin, including Trustees Dina Lawrence, John Lawler and Joanna M. Liotine Leafblad, and Village Clerk Mary Ryan Norwell.
Here are the complete remarks delivered by Mayor Dodge in commemoration of Memorial Day, which focused on respecting all of the American military veterans who died, not just the ones celebrated.
“It is a beautiful day to be here at Ara Pacé, a place of peace, so that we recognize the lives and sacrifices of all those who made this possible for us to live in a free nation. I don’t think that’s said enough, and I don’t think it’s said clearly enough, but we’re gonna make a run at it today.
“We do live in a great nation that’s enshrined our rights to peaceably assemble, to do all the things that we enjoy every day under the protection of the law. And if my fellow veterans in the other branches don’t mind for a moment, I’ll quote the United States Army motto, ‘This we’ll defend.’ And so we should.
“We are blessed to have the freedoms that we do in these United States, and especially so as we mark our 250 years since its founding. We remember the ideals that shaped our nation 250 years ago to form a more perfect union, that government is by the consent of the governed, and the rights are not granted by governent, but they are endowed by our creator.
“We are blessed that 250 years ago, brilliant minds built a young nation that designed a system of government that protects those founding ideals, allowing each generation, each generation, as I look at our children’s choir, to shape a better future full of hope and abundance. And from that foundation comes the enduring hope, especially well-stated by President Lincoln, that that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.
“It’s in the wisdom of the ancients and is stated very plainly in the Book of Ecclesiastes, ‘There’s a time for war and there’s a time for peace.’ Now, America, our sweet land of liberty, has at times been called to defend freedom against tyranny and aggression, not only for us, but in defense of liberty itself. That’s one of the reasons, one of the reasons why America is often seen as exceptional, especially by those of us gathered here.
“After those wars, we helped former enemies rebuild. In the modern era, when the time for peace has arrived, our nation maintained a military presence in some war zones, but we stayed to restore and to lift up, not to conquer, as our historic history shows us, the history of the world, not to dominate, not to impose a foreign way of life or a religion while or extracting war reparations. That’s what makes our country unique and exceptional.
“When our nation has needed them, the nation’s called on citizens to serve, like what we just heard from Sergeant Major Miller. Those fallen service members are why Memorial Day was created. That’s why we are here today, that their sacrifice is literally the very reason for Memorial Day. As Dan noted, General Logan, famous Illinoisan who went on to be a senator from Illinois, created this day, and it was not just about the grief. It was about gratitude, a way to ensure that the sacrifices those men made would never be forgotten. His vision was very, very clear: honor the sacrifice of those who gave everything so that freedom might flourish. Let me repeat that for emphasis, ‘So freedom might flourish.’ It’s the heart of Memorial Day, a call to never forget for the price of their liberty.
“In closing, during a Memorial Day address at Arlington National Cemetery, President Reagan said it well, “Our first obligation to them and ourselves is plain enough. These United States, and the freedom for which it stands, the freedom for which they died, must endure and prosper.”
“Their lives remind us that freedom is not bought cheaply. As we honor their memory today, let’s pledge, uh, that their lives, their sacrifices, their vision shall be justified, shall be justified and remembered for as long as God gives life to our nation. Now, it’s a solemn day of remembrance, and it’s a day to reflect, and modern America, it’s become a day of celebration and enjoying life, and those are good things, but let’s not forget those who defended us.
“In this 250th year of our nation’s founding, there’s a special meaning for all of us as we honor the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice while reflecting on the way of life they helped to preserve. Their legacy is not just one of loss, but of enduring hope that each generation can carry on. We must remember why people serve. For generations, many men and women have answered the call to duty, putting country above self and accepting hardship in the defense of others.
“They serve so that others might be free, so that our ideals remain strong, that future generations may continue to stand in the light of liberty. Let’s earn that every day.”
The names of veterans recently added to the Village’s granite memorial wall were read aloud during the ceremony.
More than 200 guests attended.
The ceremony was broadcast on live on the Village’s YouTube channel at YouTube.com/@VillageofOrlandPark, where it can be watched again.
The ceremony itinerary includes:
- Welcome Address: Dan Marsan, Veterans Program Coordinator for the Orland Park Veterans Advisory Board and U.S. Navy veteran
- Posting of Colors: American Legion Orland Memorial Post #111, Veterans Voices Military Group and VFW Reber-Tesmond Post #2604
- National Anthem: Orland Park Children’s Choir
- Pledge of Allegiance
- Invocation: Father Ed Mikolajczk from Our Lady of the Woods Parish, Orland Park
- Wreath laying
- Guest Speaker: Daniel Miller, Sgt. Maj., U.S. Marine Corps, retired
- Memorial Day Reflections and Reading of Newly Engraved Names: Mayor James Dodge
- Service Song Medley: Orland Park Children’s Choir
- Closing Ceremony: Taps performed by member of America Legion Orland Memorial Post #111, followed by a 21-gun salute
- God Bless America: Orland Park Children’s Choir
The Village of Orland Park proudly recognized the following veterans whose names were recently added to the memorial wall:
- William J. Wesley, U.S. Army, 1951-1954
- William M. Wesley, U.S. Navy, 1972-1978
- Anthony A. Wesley, U.S. Army, 1979-1982
- Joseph R. Ward Jr., Civil War, 1861-1865
- Raymond Edward Arndt Jr., U.S. Air Force, 1969-1972
- Clifford E. Brown, U.S. Navy, 1988-1992
- Daniel Pechnyo, U.S. Army, 1942-1951
- Francis Joseph Gentile, U.S. Army, 1942-1945
- James Robert Kaczmark, U.S. Army, 1967-1973
- Dennis Daniel Rangel, U.S. Army, 1961-1962
- Lawrence James Krull, U.S. Army, 1967-1970
- Joseph T. Cistaro, U.S. Army, 1955-1958
- Joseph E. Cistaro, U.S. Army, 1987-present
Families of newly recognized veterans were given veteran Certificate of Recognition at the conclusion of the Memorial Day ceremony.
In celebration of Memorial Day and the nation’s semiquincentennial commemoration of 250 years of American independence, the Village will also host the Red, White & Blue BBQ Fest and Parade on Saturday, May 23, at Centennial Park West, 15609 Park Station Blvd., Orland Park. The free event will feature a community parade starting at 10 a.m. along Park Station Blvd. with more than forty parade units, an amateur rib cook-off competition, live entertainment, children’s activities and food trucks, with a closing ceremony and fireworks starting at approximately 9:15 p.m.
For more information, contact the Veterans Commission at (708) 403-6115 or visit orlandpark.org.
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