100-Year-Old WWII Vet Rich Olund Celebrated At Veterans Day Homecoming

PALOS HILLS, IL — Beloved long-time Palos Park resident Rich Olund was honored Monday at a Veterans Day homecoming.

Olund, who just turned 100 earlier this month, was just 19 when he landed on Omaha Beach behind General George S. Patton in German-occupied France in July 1944 a month after D-Day with the Third Army.

Born in 1924 to Swedish immigrant parents, Alex and Elenore, he grew up on Chicago’s South Side in the West Lawn neighborhood near 62nd and Tripp. In 1943, he was drafted into military service and joined the Army, according to an interview with Olund in Southwest Messenger.

Olund served as a surgical technician in Gen. George S. Patton’s Third Army, providing medical and dental care to soldiers on the front lines across France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany.
Surviving D-Day, Olund returned home when he married a cute neighborhood girl, Dorothy. They settled in Palos Park where they raised two daughters.

On Monday morning, veterans gathered for a Veterans Day Day homecoming party at McDonald’s in Palos Hills. The event was organized by Palos Heights-resident Kathy Lovitt.

“I started going to McDonald’s in 2012 when I noticed all these older men wearing hats with their branch of service and the war they served in,” Lovitt said. “I approached McDonald’s about organizing a Veterans Day event.”

Lovitt’s efforts have since grown to include the other major holidays. The parties slowed down during the pandemic.

“I started calling all those on my list since 2012,” Lovitt said. “A lot have died but I’ve known Rich for years. He used to come to my mother’s house for holidays after his wife passed away. Today was a homecoming.”

On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded German-occupied France with the Normandy landings.
Omaha Beach was one of five beaches that the Allies landed in their amphibious assault fighting Germany’s 352nd Infantry Division.

As each day passes, we lose more World War III veterans, along with their heroic stories and memories. According to recent National World War II Museum statistics, there are 66,143 World War II veterans living today – less than 1 percent of the 16.4 million Americans who served during the second world war.

In Illinois, 2,531 World War II vets are alive today. The median age of today’s surviving WWII vets, is 96 years old and are among the youngest who entered the military at age 18 in 1945.

By 2034, the number of living WWII Veterans is expected to fall to 1,000.

This story has been updated with new information.