CIA Director David H. Petraeus of the Central Intelligence Agency will lead this year’s Memorial Day Parade as its Grand Marshal and participate in the Wreath Laying Ceremony preceding the parade on Saturday, May 26, 2012.
General David H, Petraeus (U.S. Army, Retired) became the 20th Director of the Central Intelligence Agency on September 6, 2011.  Director Petraeus has dedicated his life to public service, retiring from the United States Army on August 30, 2011 after a distinguished 37-year career.
He last served as Commander, NATO International Security Assistance Force and Commander, U.S. Forces- Afghanistan from July 2010 until July 18, 2011. His other four-star commands include assignments as the 10th Commander, United States Central Command, and as Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq during the surge.
This year, parade will commemorate the 150th Anniversary of Taps with a special tribute.  In 1862, Oliver Wilcox Norton wrote what he called “the hardest 24 notes to play”.  The all too familiar cadence of notes first played by Wilcox during the Civil War and will be played by a group of from Bugles Across America to mark the anniversary.
Included in the day’s events will be a special recognition of the Illinois Gold Star Families at the Wreath Laying Ceremony at 11:00 am on Daley Plaza and at the Parade.  The parade steps off at noon at State and Lake Streets proceeding south on State to Van Buren.
The Chicago Memorial Day Parade honors all men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country.  This year’s parade will be dedicated to all soldiers who fought and died in our country’s recent conflicts. The City of Chicago is proud to have post 911veterans represented in our parade this year.

Meetings are held
on the third Saturday of every month.
(unless noted otherwise)

TIME: 10 AM to 12:30 PM
(unless noted otherwise)

LOCATION:(unless noted otherwise)
Montford Point Marine Association
7011 S Vincennes in Chicago

Meetings are held
on the third Saturday of every month.
(unless noted otherwise)

TIME: 10 AM to 12:30 PM
(unless noted otherwise)

LOCATION:(unless noted otherwise)
Montford Point Marine Association
7011 S Vincennes in Chicago

The US Department of Veterans Affairs, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Edward Hines VA Hospital, James Lovell Federal Health Care Center and Illinois Supporting All Veterans Equally (ISAVE) will be hosting the Illinois Warrior Summit and 5th Annual Welcome Home Celebration for 4,000 military, veterans and families on Thursday, August 9th, 2012 from 10a-3p at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Forum – (725 W. Roosevelt Road in Chicago).

The Illinois Warrior Summit and 5th Annual Welcome Home Celebration connects military, veterans and families to services and programs with benefits, education, employment, housing, legal, disability, mental health, family and children services.

Illinois Supporting All Veterans Equally (ISAVE) Mission: To connect military, veterans and families with services and programs to benefits, employment, education, housing, legal, disabilities, mental health, family and children services.

About ISAVE: Many Active, Reserve and National Guard components return from service and have difficulty finding the proper direction and guidance for available programs and services. ISAVE is working to help unite the Illinois community to create an open referral network system, a standardized packet of information and a web based platform for everyone to use.

Illinois Supporting All Veterans Equally (ISAVE) is a registered 501 (c) 3 Not-for-Profit Organization and currently works with the Illinois community to host veteran one stop shop resource fairs called, the Illinois Warrior Summit and Welcome Home Celebration.

These one of a kind events promotes positive community relations and present military, veterans and families with many opportunities for future goals. The Illinois Warrior Summit and Welcome Home Celebration also advocates networking between different organizations which improves business to business relations; enhancing the quality of veteran support services, and in turn, helping thousands of military, veterans and families.

The Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Edward Hines VA Hospital, James Lovell Federal Health Care Center and Illinois Supporting All Veterans Equally (ISAVE) will have:

*FREE BENEFIT and RESOURCE FAIR at UIC FORUM for 4,000 Military, Veterans and Families

*FREE FOOD and REFRESHMENTS for 4000 Attendees

*FREE SPORTS TICKETS 5000 for Military Personnel or Veterans- Sox, Fire, Sky, Cubs

*FREE T-SHIRTS for first 1000 Veterans (1 per veteran)

*FREE RAFFLES and GIVEAWAYS for Military and Veterans ALL day

*FREE KID’S ENTERTAINMENT with JUMBO Moon Bounce, Reptile Show and Children’s Activities

*SPECIAL APPEARANCE of Chicago CUBS Trolley for Kids

*SPECIAL APPEARANCE by Jesse White Tumbling Team

* SPECIAL APPEARANCE by Miss Chicago 2012 and Miss Windy City 2012

*SPECIAL APPEARANCE by The Pipes and Drums of the Chicago Police Department

*SPECIAL APPEARANCE of the World Performance Team

*OPENING CEREMONY with Color Guard Presentation from 2-24 Marines

*NATIONAL ANTHEM Performance by Miss Chicago 2012

*MILITARY TAPS Performance by Bugles Across America

*VA Providing ON SITE Physicals and Registration for Health Care

*IDES Providing ON SITE Registration for Unemployment Benefits

*NATIONAL ABLE NETWORK Providing ON SITE Registration for Employment Opportunities

*80 NON-PROFIT Veteran Support Organizations Providing FREE Services and Programs

*40 EMPLOYERS Providing Job Opportunities

*30 VA PROGRAMS & SERVICE STATIONS Providing Assistance to Veterans

*20 UNIVERSITIES and COLLEGES Providing Education Opportunities

We Look Forward to Seeing You Soon!!!