Of all the good moments this Independence Day, one touched neighbors along Hyacinth Avenue the most. Jerry Konopka, an 80-year-old Slavic Village resident and Vietnam veteran, braved the dangerous heatwave to honor America by decorating the home he loves in red, white and blue.
Konopka greeted the morning of July 4th with outstretched arms of joy and saluted the American flag with the same heartfelt admiration and loyalty he carried as a teenage soldier 60 years ago.
Friends describe him as a true American patriot. His porch, wrapped in bunting with the flag flying high, has become a small landmark of the neighborhood every Fourth of July.
The salute was captured by his longtime friend Eileen Hamilton, whose letter about the moment appears in this week's Opinion section.