Read about these local veterans

Tom Gordon URBANA — Tom Gordon didn’t care to join the Army, because he’d have to … By Paul Wood Ray Heckler URBANA — With a shell-shocked soldier for a companion, Ray Heckler dro … By Paul Wood Bette Babb CHAMPAIGN — Not everyone who served wore a uniform. Bette Babb kept pl … By Paul Wood Robert Alsop CHAMPAIGN — At an outpost that could have been overrun any minute by t … By Paul Wood Robert Collins FARMER CITY — Robert Collins served in Africa and invaded Sicily, then … By Paul Wood Leonard Wirges RANTOUL — Leonard Wirges risked his life in World War II, then lived t … By Paul Wood Bernard Puglisi CHAMPAIGN — Bernard Puglisi could easily have avoided serving as a Mar … By Paul Wood Tom Yancey SAVOY — Serving as bombardier on a B-24 Liberator over Germany, Tom Ya … By Paul Wood John Phipps CHAMPAIGN — During the Berlin Wall crisis in 1961, John Phipps was wor … By Paul Wood Doug Robinson SIDNEY — Back when Jimmy Carter was president, Doug Robinson had newly … By Paul Wood Larry Soliday URBANA — Larry Soliday served in an elite unit that did everything fro … By Paul Wood Bill Avery Bill Avery, who enlisted in the Army Air Forces in World War II, compl … By Paul Wood