Near North Side in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
North Loop Post No. 949 War Memorial
Photographed By Sean Flynn, June 25, 2024
1. North Loop Post No. 949 War Memorial Marker
Dedicated to
Howard F. Guthrie • John A. Trotter • Horton V. Anderson • Albert Sebosky • Frank J. DuMolin • Nathan Goldstein
May 30, 1969
Erected 1969 by North Loop American Legion Post #949.
Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Military • Parks & Recreational Areas • War, World II.
Location. 41° 53.917′ N, 87° 37.607′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in the Near North Side. Memorial can be reached from the intersection of North Wabash Street and East Chestnut Street, on the left when traveling south. The marker is in the southwest corner of Connors Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 861 North Wabash Street, Chicago IL 60611, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Senator William J. Connors (within shouting distance of this marker); Archbishop Quigley Seminary (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Hotel St. Benedict Flats (about 600 feet away); Office and Studio of Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, architects
this page online
More about this memorial. The marker is one of two in the southern end of Connors Park, a ⅓-acre triangular park formed by the intersection of Wabash, Chestnut and Rush streets on the Near North Side of Chicago. The other marker, a short walk east, honors the park's namesake, former Illinois senator William Connors.
Regarding North Loop Post No. 949 War Memorial. All six soldiers honored on this plaque were men from the neighborhood around this park who died in World War II. According to contemporary news reports, the North Loop American Legion post was dedicated to these six men.
Howard Francis Guthrie was living at 119 Ontario (it does not say East or West, but either way it would be about a half-mile south of here) and working for J.F. Ireland on nearby Clark Street when he registered for the draft as a 21-year-old
Photographed By Sean Flynn, June 25, 2024
2. North Loop Post No. 949 War Memorial
The marker is near park entrance; in the background is Jeni's Ice Creams.
John Arthur Trotter was a 23-year-old living at 915 North State, not far from this park, when he registered for the draft in 1940. The registration card lists Patrick Trotter, of the same address (and possibly a sibling), as his employer; his mother, Mary, was his primary contact, with an address on West Walton Street that would have been nearby. While details of his death could not be found, it is known that he perished on September 17, 1944, and is buried at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Horton V. Anderson appears in the 1940 census living with his family at 807 N. La Salle, about six blocks southwest of this memorial, and it says that he was born in Iowa. A 1941 article in the Chicago Tribune about the arrest of Anderson and two other men reported that Anderson had spent time as an inmate at the St. Charles School for Boys, a reform school for youths about 40 miles west of Chicago, after committing more than a dozen burglaries. Anderson registered for the draft in 1942, but it's
Photographed By Sean Flynn, June 25, 2024
3. North Loop Post No. 949 War Memorial
A northwest-facing view of Connors Park; the war memorial is not visible here but is on the left side of the park.
According to his 1940 draft card, Albert Sebosky was born in Monogahela, Pa., about 20 miles south of Pittsburgh, in 1908. His address was 807 North Wells at the time of his registration, and he was unemployed. An application for a headstone for Sebosky, signed by his mother Alice, says he was a private first class in Company A, 325th Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division when he was killed in action (likely in Belgium) on February 2, 1945 at age 36. He is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery in Evergreen Park, a southern suburb of Chicago.
According to his 1942 draft registration card, Frank J. DuMolin was born in Chicago and at the time of the war lived at 750 N. Rush, an address that today is home to a high-rise building about four blocks south of Connors Park. DuMolin was a 24-year-old corporal in the 745th Tank Battalion when he was killed on March 1, 1945 in Germany. He is buried in Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in Belgium.
Nathan Goldstein lived at 1233 North Wells, about a half-mile northwest of here, when he registered in 1940. A private first class in the Marines, he died on May 9, 1945, while trying to rescue some of his fellow Marines during a battle on Okinawa. He was awarded the Silver Star for his efforts. According to his Silver Star citation, awarded posthumously in July of 1946, "Stout-hearted and constant, he repeatedly organized new teams when stretcher bearers were struck down by the blistering shellfire and, courageously returning over the same route, continued his selfless efforts until he himself was fatally wounded by a sudden burst of machine-gun fire." Goldstein is buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. He left behind a wife, Cathryn, who died in 1989, and a 6-year-old daughter, Harriet, who died in 2021.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 27, 2024. It was originally submitted on June 26, 2024, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 39 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 26, 2024, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
