Byron Museum of History honors veteran Richard Cheek

As the country honors its veterans, the Byron Museum of History remembers Petty Officer Third Class Richard Allan Cheek. Richard’s sister, Carol Bretz, visited the museum Sept. 14 and donated items related to his time in the Navy, including his Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals.The museum is cataloging this recent donation of items that belonged to Richard Cheek and is putting together a display for the Vietnam case in the military exhibit.

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It also hopes to include Eugene Campbell of Byron and Eugene Szczech of Stillman Valley, both also killed in action during the Vietnam War.If you know of someone not mentioned here, please contact the museum and it will try to include them and pass the information on to local American Legion Post 209.On the 50th anniversary of Cheek’s death in 2017, Kim Gauker posted a heartfelt message on the Byron Nostalgia Facebook page of which an excerpt is included here. (Kim also remembered his cousin, Donald Francis Vogel of Holcomb, another Ogle County bo