Anna, Illinois
¾ mile east of the I-57 / IL-146 interchange
GPS coordinates: 37.445869,-89.131587
Take a photo of your rally flag with the above image.

A memorial for a pig? Really?

When the pig earns $19,000,000 (nearly $200 million in today's money) for the war effort and gets buried with full military honors, absolutely.

King Neptune was raised by a farmers daughter as a 4-H project and was donated in 1942 to be served at a fundraising pig roast until a local navy recruiter came up with another idea. Neptune was a hereford swine, a breed characterized as mostly red with a white face, similar to that of the Hereford breed of cattle.

Navy recruiter Don Lingle, of Anna, Illinois, decided to auction the pig to raise war bonds. Lingle and an auctioneer traveled throughout southern Illinois auctioning Neptune for bonds going to the battleship USS Illinois which was under construction.

Eventually, all parts of the pig were auctioned; even his squeal was auctioned for $25 on at least one occasion. After each auction, King Neptune was returned to be auctioned again later. High demand for appearances by Neptune led them to travel the rest of Illinois raising funds. The mostly red, with white features, pig was often displayed covered with a blue Navy blanket and wearing a gold crown and silver earrings.

In 1943, Illinois Gov. Dwight Green purchased King Neptune for $1 million on behalf of the state of Illinois. At the same auction, one of Neptune's bristles was sold for $500.

Most of the 700-lb. hog's appearances were sponsored by local Elks clubs and King Neptune was a life member of the chapters in Marion, Freeport, and Harrisburg.

In 1946, King Neptune died of pneumonia on a farm near his birthplace, two days prior to his 8th birthday.

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Tour of Honor-Illinois is sponsored by John Williams from Kankakee.