CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Chicago has been remembering and honoring its veterans this Veterans Day weekend, and during a commemoration ceremony at Soldier Field on Saturday, one local veteran said his service was punctuated by a kiss long ago.
Philip Wizenick served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Thailand between 1964 – 1965. One of his most memorable moments, though, came while he was posted in Paris as a member of the nonprofit veterans organization American Legion.
“On the Fourth of July, we were allowed to have a parade on the Champs-Élysées … to the Arc De Triomphe, where the eternal flame is,” he said. “I’m carrying the colors down the Champs, and a lady runs off the sidewalk and kisses me on the cheek and says, ‘Thank you for saving my country.’”
Wizenick said it didn’t matter that neither of them were alive in 1944.
“At that moment, the American Legion represented the U.S. military, and she represented France,” he said. “I’ll never forget that. It was an emotional moment, it really was.”
Several state and local officials — including Mayor Brandon Johnson, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and combat veteran-turned-U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth — attended Saturday’s ceremony.
Chicago has about 66,000 veterans, and Illinois is home to about 500,000 veterans.
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