Car Parade Planned For Tinley WWII Vet On His 95th Birthday

TINLEY PARK, IL — Well-wishers are invited to take part in a surprise car caravan to wish a World War II veteran from Tinley Park a happy 95th birthday this Saturday, Feb. 20. Cars will lineup at Fulton Elementary School, 6601 171st St., Tinley Park, starting at 11:30 a.m. before proceeding to John “Pete” Aitchison’s house in the 6500 block of Hubbard Lane.

“Nobody could pronounce our last name,” his daughter Lorin Valk told Patch. “My dad has a nickname, ‘Pete Kelly.’ Many people don’t know his name is John.”

John was born on Feb. 20, 1926. He was a radio operator on the USS Wasatch, an amphibious force command ship that earned four battle stars during World War II. After the war, John married Maryann and like many young couples, settled in the suburbs. They raised four children and John still lives in the same house in Tinley Park that he and his late wife purchased in 1950.

While working for the Penn Central railroad as a movement director, John found time to join the Tinley Park volunteer fire department as one of the charter volunteers.

“The firefighters would not accept [a stipend],” his daughter said. “The money was put into a special fund that was used to build a [training] tower.”

A plaque on the training tower on 183rd Street between Harlem and 80th Avenue bears John’s name and the other early volunteer firefighters. John is a loyal member of the Bremen VFW Post 2791 in Tinley Park.

The birthday caravan is a surprise, so if you know John, don’t spoil it. If you can’t make the caravan, you can send a card to him at:

John Aitchinson
℅ Lorin Valk
9257 111th St. North
Seminole, Fla 33772