On Saturday, March 9th our Post Centennial Committee presented a custom-designed Centennial banner to the community at the St. Charles Veterans Center. The banner was created for use in parades, special events and for display on the exterior of our St. Charles Veterans Center, home to Post 342 and four other posts, to promotoe our 100 Year Anniersary in our community. We opened the dedication with a prayer from our Chaplain Betty Butler. Betty sevred our Country in the Waves during WWII, conducting flight training with a simulator. At this date, Betty is 97 years old.
Afterward the opening prayer, Centennial Committee Chairman and past Post Commander Robert Phillips shared some highlights from the history of our Post. WWII Army Veteran Col. Angelo Di Liberti and Post Adjutant Robert Altergott unfurled the banner and held it aloft for all to see. Following tremendus applause, we took the banner outside and mounted it on the pillars in front of the Veterans Center, facing Route 31 and the Fox River. Post 342 Commander Greg McKinney spoke about the Centennial Calendar of Events. The ceremony closed with a prayer from Betty. The banner was later taken down to be used in the St. Patricks Day Parade on March 9th, was remounted and subsequently mounted at our Inaugural Centennial Dinner & Celebration held at Henry Rockwell Baker Community Center on April 5th, 2019.
