Jacob Harris, one of the Gold Star 500 riders stands

Jacob Harris, one of the Gold Star 500 riders stands up to be recognized as part of a ceremony honoring fallen Illinois service members at the 1st Infantry Division Museum at Cantigny. Jacob was among the first recipients of a Gold Star Mission scholarship and is now part of the organization. The museum and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation hosted a ceremony honoring Illinois’ Fallen Warriors on Saturday, Sept. 28. The ceremony was sponsored by the nonprofit Gold Star Mission. Gold Star Mission’s president, Helfrich, and vice president, Andrew Adamczyk, are Illinois National Guard officers and many of the organization’s staff and volunteers are active or retired Illinois National Guard troops or family members including some Gold Star Families. This year the organization raised about $100,000 for scholarships to be awarded in honor of Fallen Warriors from Illinois. Gold Star Mission sponsors multiple events with the seminal event being an annual 500-mile, 5-day, endurance bicycle ride called the Gold Star 500, which ended Sept. 28.