On Sunday, November 9, 2025, thirty Mendel Monarchs met at St. Barnabas Church to honor the memories of sixteen Monarchs who were killed in Vietnam as well as three Monarch First Responders who died in the line of duty in what was appropriately called “Memorial Sunday.”

After a special Veterans Day Mass that included a wonderful homily by the Pastor at St. Barnabas, James Donovan, the Monarchs travelled to local cemeteries to lay wreathes at the gravesites of twelve of the sixteen Monarchs who died in Vietnam and one of the First Responders. The Monarchs said a gravesite prayer at each site in honor of their departed Brothers.

After the cemetery visits, the Monarchs gathered at Baracco’s Pizza to remember their classmates, enjoy some good food and to share Mendel Memories. The Mendel Alumni Association Veterans and First Responders Committee Chairman Andy Youpel (’66) thanked the Mendel Men who participated in “Memorial Sunday,” and he vowed that the memories of the departed Monarch Veterans and First Responders would never be forgotten.

“Go, you men of Mendel — keeping the fire burning.”

Monarchs Killed in Action — Local Grave Sites

St. Mary Catholic Cemetery

3801 West 87th Street, Evergreen Park

• William Geis (’64) — Section O, Lot 257
• Craig Clancy (’65) — Section KC, Lot 846
• Jerry Fleming (’65) — Section AM, Lot 349
• James Lawlor (’66) — Section KC, Lot 1648, Grave SE

Holy Sepulchre Cemetery

6001 West 111th Street, Alsip

• James Doyle (’65) — Grave 9, Lot 63, Block 14, Section 8
• Robert Miller (’65) — Grave 7, Lot 89, Block 33, Section 41
• Patrick Crowley (’65) — U.S. Army Cemetery

Queen of Heaven Cemetery

1400 South Wolf Road, Hillside

• Richard Barth (’67) — V34P+8M9

Assumption Cemetery

19500 S. Cottage Grove Ave, Glenwood

• James William Oskilanec (’64) — Section 8, Block 44, Lot 15

St. Casimir Cemetery

4401 West 111th Street, Chicago

• Alan Butkus (’65) — Shrine of the Holy Cross, Grave 2E, Lot 37, Block 1, Section 71
• Francis Schwarz (’66) — Section 7, Lot 90, Grave 4W

Oak Hill Cemetery

11900 South Kedzie Ave, Blue Island

• James Sachaschik (’67) — Garden of Meditation, East Wall, Pier 4, Crypt 30

Holy Cross Cemetery

801 Michigan City Road, Calumet City

• Robert Hojnacki (’69) — Section 18, Block 45, Lot 51, Grave 2