Army National Guard veteran Lorenzo Fiorentino swears that if he holds still, he falls asleep. Maybe that’s why he hasn’t stopped giving back to the military and veteran communities since he left the Illinois National Guard in 2009. His most recent contribution was on full display at a June 27th ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Chicagoland Veterans Campus, a one-stop history and resource shop for veterans, military families and the community that he founded.
“I just want to continue to give back to the community, because that’s what makes me happiest,” said Fiorentino, a longtime military policeman and current juvenile probation officer. “I hope that service members and their families will view this place as a haven. When you build it, they will come, right?”
Located in the village of Addison, about a half-hour west of Chicago, the Veterans Campus boasts a veterans’ history library, multiple small military-related museums, space for veteran service officers (VSOs) and military service organizations (MSOs), community meeting rooms and relaxation spots. The idea for this specific campus struck Fiorentino, a native Sicilian, in 2019 when he curated some military museum exhibits at his American Legion/VFW post, where he was commander.
As veterans brought items in for display, Fiorentino noticed something: they opened up about not only their military service, but what they currently needed help with. It got him thinking: what if they could have not only military museums, offices for military resources, and a way to educate visitors on local military history but also space for veterans to bond and connect — all in the same place? One year later, they were scouting locations while Fiorentino frequented estate and garage sales for interesting military items with even more interesting origins.
“I always tell my museum members, ‘We’re not here to collect tchotchkes; we’re here for the stories,’” Fiorentino said. “We don’t just want military uniforms — we want to talk about your dad who wore those uniforms.”
It’s a message that clearly resonates with locals, as they had to bring in extra chairs at the opening ceremony for attendees. One of which was Illinois National Guard Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Rodney Boyd, a close friend of Fiorentino’s.
“Back when Lorenzo and I deployed together to Afghanistan, he said, ‘One day, I’m going to have a whole campus to honor veterans,’ and I’m like, ‘You’re crazy!’” Boyd said. “But this is his passion and it has come to fruition.”
Part of that passion is personal for Fiorentino and his family. While deployed to Afghanistan, for example, he commissioned the creation of dolls and toys for his children from local artisans. Today, those children’s items are on display at the Chicagoland Veterans Campus.
Meetings for book clubs and local military-related organizations have already started filling the campus calendar. The project happened with the help of plenty of donated local labor, while big-box stores like Home Depot gave materials. The work is still ongoing, too — Fiorentino estimates that they need about a half-million dollars to finish projects like an elevator and curio-sensitive airflow systems. But he’s confident it will happen eventually.
So is Boyd. “Every now and then, a great American gets to do something special for veterans, and that great American is Lorenzo,” he said. “What he’s doing will last long beyond his years on earth.”
That’s the whole idea, Fiorentino said.
“We all die twice in life: first when you actually die, and the second when people forget you,” he said. “So we’re going to make sure these service members get remembered and helped.”
Visit Chicagoland Veterans Campus for more information.