Mural dedication highlights Veterans Day ceremonies in Wilmette

A picture is worth a thousand words so the title only needed to be two:  

“Thank You.”

Wilmette’s newest, and only, public mural, “Thank You,” was the backdrop for the village’s annual Veterans Day ceremony on Monday, Nov. 11, at Veterans Park.

The artwork was commissioned by the Village of Wilmette in April. It took the artist, Asend, about two months to complete the piece — he said he added the final touch (an earring for the little girl in the mural) the night before the Veterans Day ceremony. 

Depicting a child handing flowers to a serviceman, the mural is dedicated to military veterans and looms large in Wilmette’s  modestly sized Veterans Park.

Wilmette Village President Senta Plunkett said that many in the community do not realize the small park is dedicated to veterans, but that is now “artfully clear.”

Asend attended the event, his family there in support, and spoke to the packed Veterans Park about his concept for the artpiece, specifically why the subjects’ faces are not fully shown.

“Their faces are not important; their intentions are,” he said, adding that he hopes everyone who visits the park can see a familiar face — whether a friend, a family member or themselves — in the mural.

The committee chose Asend out of more than 20 applicants to create the mural, which was supported with $40,000 remaining in community donations to the town’s sesquicentennial efforts in 2022. The Wilmette Rotary Club was a significant contributor to the funds.

The Veterans Day ceremony also included an invocation,  words from local officials and  the placement of a memorial wreath at the park.

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