Post 1336 honors national cemetery volunteers

St. Juvin Post 1336 Veterans of Foreign Wars partnered with the Coal City Public Library District to honor the memory of Mary Ann Kilbride who volunteered her time as a member of the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery Memorial Squad.
Kilbride passed away in November 2016. A memorial plaque was presented to her daughters Nina Kilbride-Sheehan and Gina Schock.  The memorial will be on permanent display in the local history section of the library.  
St. Juvin Post also honored five members of the local community who serve on the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery Memorial Squad. Those individuals are Fred Koch, John Hill, Juanita Pantelone, Calvin Brainerd and Irving Dewald, senior vice commander of St. Juvin Post.
Memorial Squad members were presented with the VFW's Award of Commendation Medal and certificate on Tuesday, March 21.
The memorial plaque and medals of commendation were presented by Post adjutant Keith Roseland assisted by life member James “Hoppy” Phillips.
Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery outreach representative Chris Hill provided background information on the cemetery, answered questions from the audience and provided take home materials with respect to procedures and eligibility for committals for service members and spouses.
St. Juvin Post 1336 worked with Kathy Brown and Dana Abraham and the entire library staff in organizing the event.