Aurora names 15 to veterans council
By Stephanie Lulay slulay@stmedianetwork.com October 31, 2012 6:18PM
Updated: October 31, 2012 8:39PM
AURORA — Aldermen have approved 15 appointments to the newly expanded Veterans Advisory Council, in an effort to address issues impacting local veterans.
“There is no better way to identify the needs of our veterans than seeking their direct input on the most pressing matters they face today,” Mayor Tom Weisner said.
The Advisory Council, established in 1998, consists of members of active veterans organization, non-affiliated veterans who have been honorably discharged and family members of a living or deceased veteran.
The Veterans Advisory Council members are:
One-year term: Bob McKnight, Vietnam veteran in the U.S. Army’s 88th Supply and Service Battalion; Aureliano De La Torre, Fox Valley Marine Corps League honorary member, father of Marine Lance Cpl. Jesse De La Torre, who was killed in action in 2007 while serving in Iraq, and active Marine Juan De La Torre; John Muschler, airman in the U.S. Air Force from 1962-66 and member of the Air Force Association; Matt Wolding, machinist mate in the U.S. Navy; Joe Toma, U.S. Army Vietnam veteran, who helped bring the Vietnam Veteran’s Moving Wall to Aurora in 1989.
Two-year term: Clarence Robinson, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1954-56, member of the Fox Valley Marine Corps League and American Legion Post 2910; Bernina Perkins, served in the U.S. Army from 1988-95 as a telecommunications specialist; Robert Moga, member of the Aurora Navy League; Lisa Garcia, whose husband, father and uncles all served in the military, Aurora Navy League member; Art Sheridan, assigned to U.S. Army’s 20th Armored Division during World War II, American Legion Post 84 member.
Three-year term: Frank Gordon, served in the U.S. Marine Corps for six years, now a member of the National Marine Corps League; Tom Sampson, U.S. Navy veteran helicopter pilot from Operation Iraqi freedom, Roosevelt-Aurora American Legion Post 84 member; Dale Anderson, 20-year U.S. Navy veteran, office manager at the DuPage County Veterans Center in Aurora; Julio Vela, served 21 years in U.S. Air Force, now works for the Department of Veterans Affairs Chicago regional office; Herschel Luckinbill, served in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam, member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Honor Flight Chicago and other organizations.
