{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://hultgren.house.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/20-vets-honored-at-arden-courts-in-geneva", "20 vets honored at Arden Courts in Geneva", "2016-11-11", "2016", "2016-11", "Republican", "House", "IL", "Randy Hultgren", "H001059", "hultgren.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "GENEVA\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Twenty veterans gathered in the community room at\u00a0Arden Courts of Geneva\u00a0to be honored at a Veterans Day event Nov. 11, a national holiday that honors military veterans.\n\tArden Courts provides residential care for those with Alzheimer\u2019s, dementia and other cognitive impairments, according to its website.\n\tU.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren R-Winfield presented each vet with a certificate of service recognition, followed by Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns, who presented each with a service pin provided by the facility. Both men also gave each vet a handshake and a thank-you.\n\t\u201cWe are so grateful for your service,\u201d Hultgren said. \u201cYou were willing to sacrifice everything. \u2026 And we want to thank you from the bottom of our heart for all you\u2019ve done for us.\u201d\n\tAs the two moved through the room, the solemnity of the occasion was also tempered with humor.\n\tHultgren thanked Dorothy Rothwell, noting she was a veteran Army nurse.\n\t\u00a0\u201cDon\u2019t thank me, I got myself a nice husband,\u201d Rothwell said, prompting an outburst of laughter.\n\tTo Stanley Benton, a Navy veteran, Burns quipped that the certificate was \u201cgood for a free lunch at the Mill Race Inn,\u201d also eliciting a laugh, as the restaurant was recently torn down.\n\tBurns commented about his height \u2013\u00a06-foot-5 \u2013 to Army veteran Robert Cummins.\n\t\u201cYou\u2019re tall,\u201d Burns said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know Army guys were that tall. \u2026 Did you play basketball?\u201d\n\tCummins said he played at Immaculate Conception High School.\n\t\u201cMan oh man,\u201d Burns said. \u201cThe Army could use you now.\u201d\n\t\u201cI could use them,\u201d Cummins replied, causing another outburst of chortling.\n\tArmy Air Corps veteran William Kramer flew more than 80 transport flights over the Himalayas during World War II, said Kathy Jarman, the veteran liaison for the agency.\n\t\u201cCongressman,\u201d Burns said to Hutgren after he gave Kramer his pin. \u201cMr. Kramer said he was with 80 goofy young men who were subject to discharge at any moment.\u201d\n\t\u201cThey got the job done,\u201d Hultgren said.\n\tVeteran Garry Smart served in the Australian Service.\n\t\u201cI hope it\u2019s OK that we give you a U.S. pin \u2026 with a United States flag on it,\u201d Jarman said, as he accepted the pin.\n\tBurns noted that veteran Robert Sejnost, who served in the Army, was a White Sox fan.\n\t\u201cDid you cheer for the Cubs the last couple weeks at least?\u201d Burns asked.\n\t\u201cNo,\u201d Sejnost said. \u201cNorthsiders are weird.\u201d\n\tThe program included patriotic songs led by music therapist Amber Johnson, \"Taps\" performed by John Carson on trumpet and the color guard was provided by American Legion Post 75 in Geneva.\n\tJarman also did a reading of \u201cBeatitudes of American Servicemen and Women.\u201d\n\t\u201cBlessed are you who labored for the greater good, for your sacrifice is a lesson in service,\u201d Jarman said. \u201cBlessed are you who stood in the face of dangers and fear, so we may rest in security and peace.\u201d\n\tMany vets had family and friends attend the ceremony and joined them with refreshments afterward.\n\tRoberta and Dan Koebele of Kaneville, attended for her father, Robert Michalski, 93, a World War II Army veteran who served in the infantry and who was awarded a Purple Heart.\n\t\u201cThe World War II guys are getting fewer and far between,\u201d Dan Koebele said. \u201cWe definitely need to honor them. They paid an ultimate major price for what they did \u2026 in the Pacific Theater and the European Theater. It was a very nice ceremony. We need to honor these guys every chance we get \u2013\u00a0and ladies.\"\n\tJoni Kupar and her daughter, Elizabeth, 21, of Elburn, attended for her father, John Storto, 87, a veteran of Korea.\n\t\u201cI thought it was very nice,\u201d Joni Kupar said. \u201cI thought it was nice for the congressman and mayor to come and personally honor them \u2026 it\u2019s very memorable for the family to know that they care.\u201d\n\tVeterans honored at Arden Courts in Geneva on Veterans Day:\n\t\u2022 Navy: Norman Bodda, Stanley Brenton Alan Daw, Hilda Flynn\n\t\u2022 Army: Marshall Brodien, Robert Cummins, Edward Giomi, John Jerrard, Robert Michalski, Collin Nicholson, Dorothy Rothwell, James Schmidt, Robert Sejnost, Francis Smoczynski, John Storto\n\t\u2022 Marines: Leslie Arno\n\t\u2022 Air Force: Michael Loughman\n\t\u2022 Army Air Corps: William Kramer, Lauri Kivisto\n\t\u2022 Austrailian Service: Garry Smart\n\tOn the Web\n\tVisit KCChronicle.com to view videos associated with this story.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://hultgren.house.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/20-vets-honored-at-arden-courts-in-geneva"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6256389897316694, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}