A retired Army National Guard Colonel who served in the DeKalb Police Department for more than two decades has been named as the keynote speaker for the Memorial Day program in DeKalb.
The program is one of three public events to be held in DeKalb on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, to honor the military service members who made the ultimate sacrifice, giving their life in service to our country.
The first commemoration will be held at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Clock in Memorial Park at Lincoln Highway and First Street. A brief ceremony will be held beginning at 8:30 a.m.
The ceremony is followed by the Memorial Day parade, featuring local military organizations, the DeKalb Police and Fire Departments, marching bands from DeKalb High School and the middle schools and community groups. The parade steps off at North Third and Locust Street at 9 a.m. It will travel west on Locust, which is DeKalb’s honorary Veterans Way, and then north on Linden Place to the Ellwood House.
The Memorial Day program begins at 9:30 a.m. on the Ellwood House lawn. It will include remarks by DeKalb officials and local veterans and several tributes to fallen service members. The keynote speaker will be retired Army National Guard Colonel Jose Jaques.
Jaques enlisted in the Illinois Army National Guard in 1987 as a Utility Helicopter Mechanic. In December 1991, he was commissioned through Northern Illinois University ROTC into the US Army Reserves, and he joined the Illinois National Guard in 2009. As part of his service, Jaques was mobilized to support Operation Enduring Freedom from January 2003 to July 2004 and was deployed to Afghanistan from November 2014 to June 2015. His numerous awards and badges include the Global War on Terrorism Medal and Afghanistan Campaign Medal. Jaques joined the DeKalb Police Department in 1996. As part of his 22-year career in law enforcement, he worked as a School Resource Officer for more than 12 years.
Following the program, free first-floor tours of the Ellwood House will be offered. The Memorial Day events are a collaboration of the City of DeKalb, DeKalb Park District and Ellwood House Museum.
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