Politics & Government
PHOTO GALLERY: Village Honors Fallen Hero Spc. Jared Stanker
Two years ago, the Stanker family lost a "ray of sunshine" in their lives. Saturday, the village of Evergreen Park honored Spc. Jared Stanker by naming an honorary street after him in his favorite park.
"Love you, Uncle Jared," said 18-month-old Ethan Jared Brandl as he leaned in and kissed the photo of his uncle displayed on the Illinois Patriot Guard Fallen Heroes Traveling Memorial Wall.
He, Mayor James Sexton and about 200 other people celebrated Spc. Jared Stanker's memory by naming an honorary street after him in , a place where Stanker went to play as a child and ponder as an adult living in Evergreen Park. The street sign sits next to a boulder that was dedicated to Stanker last year.
Stanker,22, was killed while on deployment in Afghanistan on Oct. 27, 2009 with six other United States soldiers in a roadside bomb attack. His photo is on the memorial wall with over 240 other Illinois fallen heroes. According to Don Pannier, a volunteer with the Illinois Patriot Guard Fallen Heroes Traveling Memorial Wall, to date, Stanker is the only Evergreen Park resident pictured on the wall.
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