America’s Gold Star Families together with the Sgt. Anthony Maddox Memorial is proud to sponsor the Fallen
Heroes Tree of Honor. The Fallen Hero Tree of Honor dedication ceremony is an annual event that takes place
for Gold Star families, friends and the community to honor our heroes. Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the
formal dedication and tree lighting ceremony will not take place in 2020.
Three locations will continue to host the decorated trees, which includes approximately 300 hand crafted
ornaments of military service men and women who gave their lives in the defense our nation.
The community is invited to begin viewing two of the three trees on Saturday Nov. 21st.
Please note due to the recent State mandated Covid-19 restrictions, the Peoria River Front Museum will
be closed beginning Friday, Nov 20th. Dates are pending when the tree will be available for viewing.
The following locations will host the Fallen Hero Tree of Honors:
1. Peoria River Front Museum, 222 SW Washington St. Peoria, Il
2. Central Illinois Regional Airport, 3201 CIRA Dr. Bloomington, Il
3. Decatur Civic Center, 1 Gary K Anderson Plaza, Decatur, Il
Each location will be accessible to the community for viewing the Fallen Hero trees through the end of
the holiday season.
– The Fallen Heroes Tree of honor recognizes and honors fallen military soldiers, and represents all branches
of service, conflicts, from over 40 states across the USA
– Each ornament includes the rank, name, birth and date of death, branch, and state of the fallen service men
and women
– The tree in Peoria stands 14 feet tall, and a picture of the fallen hero is included on each uniquely decorated
ornament
– The other two locations host a 9-foot tree, and each ornament features a Gold star shaped design with
information about each hero
This year will be the 5th anniversary displaying the 14-foot tree, which has been hosted by the Peoria River
Front Museum for the past 3 years. The Bloomington tree has been hosted at the Central Illinois Regional
Airport for 4 years, and 3 years for the Decatur Civic Center. This will be the first year that a formal
dedication has not taken place at our designated host locations in our local community. The past ceremonies
have provided Gold Star Families the opportunity to come together, reflect, honor and remember their heroes.
This provides healing for them! As we should never forget the sacrifice of those that have made the ultimate
sacrifice for our freedom. During the event, local and state dignitaries are present. A key note speaker delivers
a message, a Gold Star Family member shares their hero’s story, ending the ceremony by initiating the official
lighting of the tree, and hanging of the first hero ornament. The remaining Gold Star Family members then
follow by hanging their heroes’ ornament, and the community joins to assist with hanging the remaining
ornaments. Even though a formal ceremony will not occur in 2020, we invite the community to visit the Fallen
Hero Tree of Honor locations, to view, pay respects, and to always remember our heroes and Gold Star Families
during the holiday season.
A few Gold Star Families will be present at each location on the following dates and times to decorate the
Fallen Hero Trees of Honor:
1. Peoria Riverfront Museum – Date/time pending due to State of Illinois COVID mitigations
2. Central Illinois Regional Airport – Friday Nov. 20th, 1:30pm to 3:30pm
3. Decatur Civic Center – Thursday Nov. 19th, 10am – 11:00 am
America’s Gold Star Families is a 501c3 that provides honor, hope and healing to those grieving any military
loss through various programs and services. For more information visit americasgoldstarfamilies.org.