Valor Support Project sets 3rd annual Veterans Day dinner for Nov. 7 in Rock Falls

The Valor Support Project, a local veteran-founded nonprofit serving veterans and their families in the Sauk Valley area, is holding its third annual Veterans Day dinner at 5 p.m. Nov. 7 at Mexicali Rose Banquet Hall in Rock Falls. This year, Korean War veteran Robert “Bob” Insley Bonnell will be honored. Bonnell served in the U.S. Navy for four years. He earned six awards and several ribbons while on active duty. Bonnell spent most of his time on the USS Missouri and some time on the icebreaker USS Burton Island. The boatswain’s mate, third class, died in 2025 at the age of 93, his son, Bob Bonnell Jr., said.Bonnell earned the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean War Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Republic of South Korea Special Medal, the China Medal, United Nations Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbons and the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation Medal. He also received a certificate from South Korea’s president for his “noble conduct in protecting the Republic of