Page 34 - November 2020

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most supervisors are trying to get their point across in a simple and concise manner.”
The preparation and matric- ulation that comes with serving made all the difference for Rivera. He grew up in Logan Square in the ‘90s, and a lot of the kids he knew were getting into gang-banging. Some of the Chicago Police Offi- cers in the neighborhood urged Rivera to think outside the block.
That led to a role as a mili- tary occupational specialist and training Iraqi soldiers to become self-sufficient and accountable. That prepared him to be an in- structor at the academy and ulti- mately an FTO.
“I developed a skillset to be part of something much bigger than myself,” Rivera confirms. “It’s organizational pride, a be- lief when it comes to community and country and, most im- portantly, mentoring and taking care of your fellow women and men in service.”
At the end of the ‘Day’
Esprit de corps doesn’t necessarily make those have served in the military better police officers than those who have not. But Veterans Day is not about that.
It’s an opportunity to celebrate moments like the one Sala- dino experienced during Chicago’s Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Parade on June 13, 1986. On that day, 200,000 Vietnam vets marched a parade route to Grant Park, the site where an-
Rob Noceda (left)
ti-war protesters rallied years earlier. An estimated 500,000 spectators cheered and applaud- ed the passing veterans.
When he came on, Saladino worked his first six months with a partner he remembers named Hogan. Spending eight hours together in the car, they talked about many things, but their ser- vice in Vietnam never came up. Then, Saladino saw Hogan at the parade wearing his Army jacket.
“We didn’t say anything,” Sal gushes. “We just hugged.”
And it’s about celebrating how the youngest of eight siblings could not finish high school be- cause her mother left when she
was 10 years old. Imagine if Gunning had not found the military. “I can tell people you can come from nothing, and this coun- try will allow you to go as far as you want if you work hard and put your mind to it,” assures Gunning, who after serving se- cured her GED went on to earn a Master’s degree in Public Safe-
ty administration from Calumet College of St. Joseph.
And it’s sharing what Noceda feels every time he hears the national anthem or says the Pledge of Allegiance. Re-read his description of that feeling on page 13 of this issue, because it so eloquently captures what is honored on Veterans Day. Each and every one of those active and retired officers pictured on
the pages that follow has felt it, too.
“It’s a complete way of serving,” Noceda declares. “It’s the
heart and soul of all of us.”
34 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ NOVEMBER 2020