Teens line street for procession of fallen Antioch soldier
By Frank Abderholden fabderholden@stmedianetwork.com March 15, 2011 8:14PM
An Army honor guard rolls the flag-draped coffin of Army Spc. Andrew Wade into Strang Funeral Home in Antioch.
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Updated: May 15, 2011 4:46AM
Over 1,000 Antioch High School students lined the roadway in front of the school Friday morning to honor Army Spc. Andrew Wade as his body was delivered to a nearby funeral home for his wake and funeral this weekend.
There was an old military North American T-28B Trojan airplane that flew overhead leaving a smoke trail and the Antioch High School soccer team, in uniform, lined the entrance to the funeral home, a fitting tribute since Wade loved soccer and played varsity until he graduated in 2007. He also played for six years with the Chicago Kickers Soccer Club in Lake Villa.
“Pretty much the whole student body was out there,” said co-superintendent of the high school district, Michael Nekritz. “We had both sides of the street filled with students four to five deep. It was a great tribute,” he said.
Patriot Guard Riders, 40 strong, with another 30 vehicles representing entities such as Antioch police and fire departments, Waukegan police and fire and Lake County Sheriff’s Office, escorted Wade’s body from the Waukegan Regional Airport to Strang’s Funeral Home on Main Street.
“It just broke your heart, but it was impressive,” said Jeff Clark, who flew the plane that belongs to the Warbird Heritage Foundation Museum & Hangar at the airport in Waukegan.
“It’s a tribute to patriotism,” he said, “It’s one of those bittersweet events.”
Nekritz said nearly all of the 1,350 students were there and they were polite and well mannered, treating the event with the reverence it deserved.
“I thought it was incredible that many students participated,” he said “It was the right thing to do. It was very powerful,” he said.
The weapons specialist died March 9 in Bagram, Afghanistan, as a result of injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident in Kunduz province in northern Afghanistan, the Defense Department said. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, N.Y.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo directed that flags on state government buildings be flown at half-staff in honor of Wade, according to New York news reports.
“On behalf of all New Yorkers, I extend our condolences to the family, friends and fellow soldiers of Specialist Wade,” Cuomo said. “While this young soldier was not a native of New York, we consider all those stationed at Fort Drum as our own. We will grieve for his loss, and honor his memory.”
Oscar “Chip” Blomgren, with the Patriot Guard Riders, said that when the procession first left the hangar area they were greeted by elementary school students from H.R. McCall Elementary School on McAree Road in Waukegan.
“All the students were saluting or standing with their hand over their hearts or waving flags,” he said. “It’s a wonderful thing the teachers are instilling in their students,” he said.
“There were a whole lot of Americans out today,” Blomgren said, adding that people got out of their vehicles to salute the procession as it passed through communities on the way to Antioch. “It can be difficult to ride when you get so fogged up,” he said. “We’re trying to help the family through the toughest thing they have to do. We do what we can to ease their tragedy,” he said.
Visitation for Wade will be held from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at Strang Funeral Home, 1055 Main St., Antioch.
Funeral mass will be held Monday at St. Peter Church in Antioch, followed by burial with military honors at Millburn Cemetery, Old Mill Creek.
“My brother loved soccer, it was his life. His goal was to be a professional soccer player,” said his sister, Alicia Wade-Litchfield. She said her brother was planning a trip around the world with some friends when they were all finished in the Army.
“After that trip, he talked about possibly going back to school. His family and friends were everything to him,” she said.
He is the third Antioch serviceman and the 22nd serviceman to die from Lake County in the war zones.
Contributions in Wade’s honor can be made to the Chicago Kickers Soccer Club, 259 W. Grand Ave., Lake Villa, IL 60046; Open Arms Mission, P.O. Box 87, Antioch, IL 60002, Fisher House Foundation, 111 Rockville Pike, Ste. 420, Rockville, MD 20850-5168, or Patriot Guard Riders, c/o Jon Tatum, 2124 S. Peoria Ave., Tulsa, OK 74114.
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