A small stone memorial sits in Maywood Veterans Memorial Park at 1st and Oak Ave. in Maywood, Illinois. Inscribed on the monument is “This tree planted as a living memorial in memory of Russell W. Cochran. American Legion 133. VFW 2193.”
We know that Mr. Cochran was in charge of the steering committee for the first Bataan Day in 1942.
We are still investigating the provenance of this memorial, including when it was dedicated, as well as its original location. The artifacts and memorials located in modern day Maywood Veterans Memorial Park having been relocated from many locations within the Village of Maywood.
However, we can share some information with you about who Russell W. Cochran was. This information comes us to us by way of the Proviso Herald in 1943:
Mr. Cochran won in a landslide. He remained magistrate until 1945 when he lost the election.
Jan Callahan, who lived next door to Mr. Cochran, remembers Russell as a Judge and “a kind and wise man.” Jan’s mother suggested that the reason for the memorial in Maywood Veterans Memorial Park is because he was “always giving of himself and being an extremely fair and honest man and Judge.”
Judge Russell W. Cochran died on Christmas day, 1959. He was 61.
If you have more information about Mr. Cochran, please share it with us below.
Thank you for posting interesting information on the history of MBDO as well as local Maywood history.