Members of Walter E. Truemper American Legion Post 1944 met Thursday night to celebrate its charter as a new post, an initiative that began in the fall of last year.
The charter presentation was part of a ceremony that began at 7 p.m. at the post’s home at Warehouse Church, 307 E. Galena Blvd. in Aurora.
Post Commander Charles Granholm said the “vision for the post is to be a service-oriented operation benefitting our community.”
“We hope to demonstrate that veterans are indeed an asset to our city,” Granholm said, adding that one of the goals the post will focus on is visiting veterans in nursing homes.
Senior Vice Commander Gary Krolik echoed the focus on visiting vets, noting that efforts by veterans in the city have been ongoing the past four years on a weekly basis “by three teams that were visiting nine facilities.”
“Having this new post formalizes the service opportunities we have here in Aurora,” Krolik said. “Warehouse Church is going to be joining in our service programs as well as other groups like Visiting Voices, a reading group that has visited Gates Elementary School including myself and two other ladies. We’d like to recruit additional readers and visit nursing homes as well.”
Krolik said that Patricia DeVore, who continues to work with the VFW in Montgomery, would likewise be joining Post 1944 as the president of the auxiliary and plans to be involved in the Smiles for Veterans initiative that provides dental care and support for veterans.
DeVore, who lives in Montgomery, said the dental program she has been overseeing where she lives was created four years ago and has helped 114 veterans nationwide with dental issues.
“This is a vital program and we can help so many more,” she said. “The post wants to support it, and I’m really excited about the potential we have here. I’ve known a number of the commanders here and I respect the heck out of them.”
Last fall, Granholm announced his intention to form a new American Legion post in Aurora that would be named in honor of Walter E. Truemper, an Aurora veteran who was killed when his plane crashed on Feb. 20, 1944, during a mission to Leipzig, Germany.
At the time, Granholm said he had received permission from the Truemper family to use the name for the new post if it received approval from the American Legion district in the area.
Before a crowd of more than 30 people, state American Legion Commander Micheal Carder welcomed the new American Legion group to Aurora, as Post 1944 now joins the existing Post 84 led by Commander Mike Eckburg.
“There are cities where we have three posts and there used to be three here in Aurora,” he said. “It’s good to build a foundation and have groups that have a different focus.”
Randy Schoof, pastor at Warehouse Church, welcomed the group Thursday and said with several members of the post being members at the church, having them use it as their meeting space “was a good fit.”
“The post is community-minded and our building was available,” Schoof said. “I feel both the church here and this group are like-minded and we thank those who have defended our country and want to let them know we love and appreciate them.”
Members of the Truemper family sat together at a table Thursday night to witness the granting of a temporary charter to the post, which officials said is part of the standard procedure.
“There is always a temporary charter granted, and then posts have something like 90 to 120 days to get a minimum of 15 new members,” said Chad Woodburn of the American Legion Department of Illinois. “We keep official notes chronicling all the history of the charters including its members.”
Mark Truemper of Aurora, the nephew of the World War II veteran, spoke on behalf of the rest of his family and said having the post named after his uncle was “a great remembrance.”
“It took 60 years for this to happen, but we are glad that people appreciate what my uncle has done,” Truemper said. “There are a number of streets and things named after him too, and when we were contacted about this last year, we were willing to do it.”