Daughter Surprises 95-Year-Old Dad With An Oak Lawn Hometown Hero Banner

OAK LAWN, IL — When Rozy Mrozynski decided to surprise her father, Anthony, who turns 95 on May 21, with a Hometown Heroes banner, he had no idea why his daughter told him to get out of the car at 95th Street and Cicero Avenue and start walking.

“I didn't tell him,” his daughter told Patch. “When we got closer, I told him to look up at the banners, and he saw his.”

Almost 200 banners (196 to be exact) of dashing hometown heroes now line 95th Street in Oak Lawn, from Pulaski Road to Harlem Avenue. The program has been so successful, that the village is starting to hang them off of lamp poles on Cicero Avenue.

“We’d like to see them hung on Cicero Avenue from 87th to 111th Street,” said Mayor Terry Vorderer, a Vietnam War combat veteran and retired Oak Lawn police officer. “I think we’re going to fill it the whole way.”

Anthony Mrozynski stands proudly under his 'Hometown Hero' banner.

The Hometown Heroes Banner Program honors past and present members of the armed forces, and first responders with a customized photo. The original Hometown Heroes Banner program began in Harrisburg, PA, in 2006. Since then, banners can be found in small towns, burgs, hamlets and big cities across the country.

Anthony Mrozynski is a Korean War-era Maine Corps veteran who doesn’t much like to talk about his years in the service. Anthony and his wife, Marilyn, have been married for 65 years, and live in the same Oak Lawn home that they purchased in Oak Lawn in 1965. Rozy graduated from Richards High School.

Rozy had to hunt for her father’s banner, after being notified of its installation. The banners are hung randomly throughout the village.

“They don’t tell you where the banners are hung,” Rozy told Patch. “I drove up and down 95th Street looking for it.”

Then one day, driving home from being out of town on a Sunday afternoon. Rozy spotted her dad’s banner in front of Corner Bakery on Cicero Avenue.

“I didn’t want the neighbors telling him. I wanted to tell him. He was definitely surprised. He kept asking me how I arranged it,” Rozy said. “When we can get everyone together, we’ll go over to the banner to take a family picture.”

The Village of Oak Lawn is now taking applications through May 30 for the 2025-2026 banner program. Applications received after this date, will be applied to the 2026-2027 program. The banners will be displayed for two years along 95th Street and Cicero Avenue in May as a visual salute to active military and veterans. They will remain up through Veterans Day in November, when they will be taken down for the winter.

Participation in the program is $125, including the banner production and placement by the Village of Oak Lawn. The banner will include the veteran’s name, picture, and branch of service. Also, a 5x8” commemorative plaque will be donated to the family on the initial order only. Additional plaques are available for $20 each. The signs are printed here in Oak Lawn at SeBa Sign

Fill out the application that is available at Village Hall, or print a copy here. Applicants must provide a photo of the veteran in uniform. Photos submitted should be in reasonably good condition. The photo will be scanned and returned to the applicant. Make checks payable to the Village of Oak Lawn and indicate “Hometown Hero Banner” in the memo section and return the completed form and picture to the Oak Lawn Village Hall, 9446 S. Raymond Ave., Oak Lawn, IL, 60453. For more information, call 708-497-4951.