Wall of photos offers tribute to McClure soldiers, sailors

MCCLURE, Ill. -- The photos take up almost an entire wall: Men, women and teen-agers who served in the United States armed forces, all from McClure's population of about 1,200 residents.

The tribute will be unveiled tonight at a gala benefiting the Illinois Veterans Home in Anna, Ill.

"I thought maybe we'd have 25," said Gabbie Mason, president of the American Legion ladies auxiliary in McClure.

Instead, there are nearly 115 portraits of soldiers, spanning World War I to the current fight in Afghanistan, hanging in the McClure American Legion Hall.

Aided by her mother, Rita Boettcher, and past auxiliary president Cheryle Dillon, Mason collected photos from past and current servicemen and women.

She then scanned them into her computer. Each image was mounted on an identical gray background and arranged in alphabetical order under the words "All gave some... Some gave all."

Dillon's family alone contributed quite a few photographs, including her father, sister, two uncles, a son and her grandson.

Although the chapter hosts several throughout the year, this is McClure's American Legion Post's largest annual fund raiser.

The post will also be hosting a parade at 11 a.m. today, which will begin at the grade school and end at the railroad tracks.