24th Annual Silent Parade Kicks Off In Hinsdale

HINSDALE, IL — The 24th annual Silent Parade will kick off at the Hinsdale Fire Department on Friday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. The department said the silent parade honors all fallen firefighters in the line of duty and any civilian who perished in a fire.

The department said residents from all over are encouraged to line the streets with American flags and flashlights to pay their respects for lives lost, and to express their gratitude for the men and women who serve their communities as first responders, firefighters and emergency medical services personnel.

The parade will leave from the fire department at 121 Symonds, and will travel west along Chicago Avenue in Hinsdale and go through Clarendon Hills, Westmont, Downers Grove and will end in Lisle at Trinity Lutheran Church.

Eight years ago, the Hinsdale Fire Department said it experienced its second line of duty death in the over 100-year history of the department. Deputy Chief Mark Johnson suffered a heart attack in the fire station
while on duty in 2010, and firefighter Walter Flemming died while fighting a structure fire in 1946. Both
men are immortalized in the department’s history and will be remembered as men of honor who
served this community with great pride.

Image via Shutterstock.