EPCHS Students Honor Local Veterans With Free Breakfast

EVERGREEN PARK, IL – Dozens of Evergreen Park veterans and veteran relatives of current Evergreen Park Community High School students were treated to a compllimentary breakfast in the school cafeteria Friday morning.

Members of the EPCHS’ National Honor Society and Ben Nesler, the NHS faculty sponsor, organized the yearly event that returned to an in person format this year after the coronavirus forced its cancellation in 2020.

“I am not sure if it was because of the gap, or if people are just more grateful these days, but the veteran guests were so appreciative of the students of Evergreen Park High School,” Nesler said. “I was moved by the realization of what an amazing community we had represented.”

NHS members introduced the veterans in attendance, summarizing their years of service after interviewing them all beforehand. The American heroes who attended ranged from a World War II veteran to a recent EPCHS grad only days removed from his ROTC training.

Frank Brzezeck, the World War II vet, shared a story about how he used repurposed timbers from the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago to build his home in Evergreen Park.

Josh Gordon, a 2021 EPCHS alum, attended the breakfast with his veteran father just after his training and before he heads back to Howard University in Washington, D.C.

“Their stories, and the many others, are what make our veterans worthy of honoring not just on Veterans' Day, but every day,” Nesler said.