A 20-year-old Lake Bluff man got stuck in a moving mudflat in Alaska and drowned when the water came in.

A Gold Star statue will be unveiled at Veterans Park in Naperville on Saturday, honoring the families of fallen soldiers. The ceremony will be held as part of the Memorial Day weekend festivities. Denise Williams, president of the Illinois Chapter of American Gold Star Mothers, will deliver the address.

Live in Plainfield Denise Williamshe lost his son Andrew MeariIn 2010 while serving in Afghanistan. Meari is 21 years old was killed when he tried to prevent a suicide bomber from entering his unit’s camp in Kandahar.

Thirteen years later, the sacrifice made by Meari and the pain felt by his family continues, and Denise Williams he knows that the day of the monument’s unveiling in Naperville and the celebrations that follow will be very emotional for him.

The monument, the first of its kind in Illinois, is a work of art Hershel “Woody” WilliamsA World War II Marine veteran who won the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on Iwo Jima. Williams he died last year.

The West Virginia native, a longtime veterans advocate, founded the Woody Williams Foundation, which was responsible for establishing 122 Gold Star family memories across the country.

The two-sided monument in Naperville is made of black granite. On one side there is an inscription: “Gold Star Families Memorial Monument, a tribute to the Gold Star families and relatives who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.”

The center of the tower shows the silhouette of a saluting service member.

On the other side there is a patriotic painting with four plaques with the text “Country, Family, Patriot and Sacrifice”. He is depicted on the tower Oliver “Judd” Kendall – A Naperville resident who died in the Army during World War I.

The construction and installation of the Naperville Tower, funded by the Century Walk Foundation, cost more than $80,000. The money was raised quickly, thanks in large part to donations from groups such as Naperville Freemasons, Naperville Responds for Veterans, American Legion Riders, and the City of Naperville’s SECA Fund.

The land for the tower was donated by the Naperville Park District. The foundation stone laying ceremony of the tower was held two years ago.

Marines Leo Breese and Jennifer Slow downco-chairs of the Naperville memorial committee, were instrumental in raising funds and bringing the memorial to Naperville.

The Naperville Municipal Band and the Naperville Men’s Glee Club will perform during Saturday’s ceremony. The Lima Flight Team will fly over the site in their vintage military aircraft. Army veteran Allen James Lyncha Gurnee resident who won the Medal of Honor for his service in Vietnam, will lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

Event organizers invite the public to attend the event, which will begin at 2:00 PM on Saturday at Veterans Park, 303 E. Gartner Road.