My favorite city-sponsored event in Aurora has always been the Veterans Day events and tributes. This holiday always becomes a real patriotic experience for me.
The parades, guest appearances, gun salutes and tap dancing have always been inspiring, and these traditions recently continued in downtown Aurora. Although the parade was held outdoors on a cold and windy day, the speech portion of the program was moved to City Hall.
This year's guest speaker was U.S. Air Force veteran and current Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps instructor Scott Hellinger. He is the lead instructor for the AFJROTC program at Western High School in Aurora.
The recipient of many military awards and decorations, Hellinger spoke about our veterans' willingness to always put service before self.
“Each of their stories is woven into the fabric of America,” he said. “These are stories of courage in the face of danger, compassion in difficult times, and an unwavering commitment to something greater than oneself.”
At the end of his speech, traditionally at 11 a.m., a rifle salute was given near City Hall, and West Aurora student Asher Lesniak played knocks.
Veterans Day honors all veterans, living and dead, but special attention is usually given to area veterans who have passed away in the past year.
Richard “Dick” Miller and Genaro “Jerry” Cisneros, both of Aurora, died in 2025. Thinking about Mr. Cisneros and Mr. Miller, I realized that they were the last living World War II veterans that I wrote about in this section, and also that they may be the last World War II veterans that I ever visited.
The thought almost brought tears to my eyes. Our greatest generation is almost all gone.
I have always tried to pay tribute to the veterans of the Great Patriotic War, as well as to honor all our heroes.
Through conversations with their families, I tried to tell the stories of Lloyd Gunnegan, Ed Nelson, and Robert Olson.
Through direct interviews with the men themselves, I had the privilege of hearing the amazing stories of Delmar Gerth, Harold Ray, Ron Olson, John Jartonius, Olaf Jovik, Miller and Cisneros.
I could never choose a favorite veteran or a favorite story, but I think the war stories passed on to me by Miller and Cisneros were probably the most compelling.
Miller, who died this year at age 98, enlisted in the military at age 17 and served aboard the destroyer USS Drexler. When I met with him in 2019, he talked about how to survive the Drexler disaster.
Tom Strong/The Beacon-News
World War II veteran Dick Miller relaxes at his Aurora home in 2019, displaying his military, family and work awards and memorabilia around him. Miller died this year at the age of 98. (Tom Strong/For The Beacon-News)
“I was a spotter for Japanese kamikaze planes,” he said. “We were hit twice, and the second one blew our ship to pieces. It began to capsize and is said to have sank after 49 seconds.
“I was in the water and we couldn't swallow because of the amount of oil and diesel fuel. A lot of sailors died from swallowing it. I got a few burns, but I never applied for any medals. I couldn't bring myself to take anything after all those guys died.
“When you see a sailor hanging dead over a gun tower, it’s hard for me to imagine that anyone couldn’t be a patriot.”
Cisneros, who just passed away in October at age 99, told me his story in 2019, when he was drafted into the Army before he became a U.S. citizen. Now, amid all our immigration disputes, this matters even more to me.
He was drafted in 1944 and could have returned to Mexico at that time or stayed and accepted the draft into the US Army.
Tom Strong/The Beacon-News
Jerry Cisneros of Aurora is holding an exhibit in 2019 that includes a photo of him as a young man and the medals he received for his service in World War II. Cisneros died in October at the age of 99. (Tom Strong/For The Beacon-News)
Cisneros took the introductory course and recalled how his unit participated in street fighting, looked for snipers and treated captured German SS men. He also helped build precast bridges.
“Before I joined the service, I faced discrimination,” he said in 2019. “Sometimes I thought, 'What am I fighting for?' My thoughts were conflicting.
“We saw bodies and ovens in the Dachau concentration camp and witnessed huge mass graves,” he said. “People won’t appreciate this country until they see something like this.”
Like other American soldiers of many nationalities, Cisneros became a US citizen in the Bavarian city in 1945 and returned home after the war.
“When I came back there was discrimination again and I felt disgusted,” he said. “People wrote petitions that they didn't want Mexicans living in this area, but I didn't oppose them. I tried to help people everywhere and in every way possible.”
Cisneros immersed himself in service to his family, his church and his community in so many activities that there was not enough space to list them all. As a proud American who suffered many times from discrimination before and after his military service, he also served for many years on the Aurora Commission on Human Relations.
I will always be grateful for my encounters with WWII veterans, but I will never forget the stories of Mr. Cisneros and Mr. Miller. They embodied the values of courage, compassion, and commitment to something greater than themselves.
And their stories also fit perfectly with Hellinger's closing remarks.
“May we always remember that our veterans did not serve for recognition, but served a nation worth believing in,” he said. “It is now our duty to ensure that the nation remains worthy of its courage and sacrifice.”
Tom Strong is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
