Members of Decorah VFW Post No. 1977 served as the color guard during Monday’s program in the Decorah High School Auditorium. (Photo by Seth Boyes)
A number of programs and events were held earlier this week in recognition of Veterans Day. Community members and students attended programs at area schools, businesses and other gathering spaces. U.S. Census data showed an estimated 1,143 veterans called Winneshiek County home between 2018 and 2022 — about 6 percent of the county’s estimated total population.
Decorah High School
Hardly a seat was unoccupied inside the Decorah High School auditorium Monday, during a community Veterans Day program. Members of Decorah VFW Post No. 1977 posted the colors for the 9:45 a.m. program, before the high school’s concert band and choir performed a number of patriotically themed numbers.
Tade Kerndt, a 1995 graduate of Decorah High School, was the morning’s featured speaker. Kerndt had joined the U.S. Army Reserve the previous year at the age of 17, and he headed to South Carolina for basic training soon after receiving his diploma. Kerndt told Monday’s audience he still isn’t entirely sure what drew him to become a reservist — he noted the local recruitment station was in the same building as his father’s office at that time, and he said the prospect of guaranteed college funds was appealing — but he knows he did a lot of growing up in a week’s time that summer. He said his company acted mainly as a construction unit in those days, taking on construction projects to assist non-profit organizations, but he said things changed following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. He and his fellow reservists shifted to mission preparations and, in March of 2003, deployment to Iraq. He and his fellow reservists help prepare military camp sites, transported equipment, constructed buildings to train Iraqi soldiers and at one point took part in a training exercise near the Iranian border.
Kerndt told the Decorah students among Monday’s
audience his time in the Army taught him how to work with people from all walks of life, to pull his individual weight as part of a larger team and to persevere when situations become difficult. Today, Kerndt is active with not only the Decorah VFW but the Winneshiek County Veterans Memorial Board as well.
South Winneshiek Schools
South Winneshiek High School hosted its annual Veterans Day assembly Monday in the high school gymnasium. Local veterans were recognized, and organizers with Decorah Quilts of Valor presented seven veterans with quilts during the program.
Quilts of Valor was founded in 2003, and has dozens of chapters across Iowa and many more across the country. The nonprofit provides quilts to service members and veterans as a tangible symbol of support. Recipients recognized during Monday’s program were Richard Hendrickson, Mark Massman, Amanda Mikesh, Tiffany (Klimesh) Weaver, Lee Hendrickson, Logan Weaver and David Werges. Another seven veterans were bestowed with quilts at the All Vets Club in Decorah. That group included Delbert Matt, Gabriel Fuerhelm, Devin Creek, Doug Abbott Marvin Schnur, Rodney Rovang and Donald Nelson.
The South Winneshiek choir and band performed patriotic music during Monday’s program, and students lined up to shake hands with veterans before heading back to class. Officials with South Winn Schools said the local Veterans Day program serves as an important opportunity for students to personally connect with local veterans and allows residents of all ages to acknowledge veterans who live in the community.
Lynch Family Companies’ dinner
The Community Building at the Winneshiek County Fairgrounds was packed the night of Nov. 11, as the Lynch Family Companies fed dinner to approximately 1,000 veterans and veterans’ families. The annual event was started by Lynch BBQ owner Gary “Porkie” Lynch, a United States Navy veteran who served in 1969 and 1970 in Vietnam.
During the dinner, 20 veterans were each awarded $1,000 to donate to their veteran services and organizations of their choosing. This year’s winners were Dennis Shurtleff, Dean Speichers, Ron Juve, Dave Gilbert, Joe Thoma, Mike Yslas, Loren Eberling, Leigh Rekow, Charles Hegseth, Cletus Myers, Duane Hruksa, James Lalk, Chuck Vikdal, George Maloy, Tony Roethler, Charlie Dietz, Austin Ollendieck, Dale Olson, Stan Fuchs and Judson Schrick. Steve Novak won a flag which will be flown over the nation’s capital at a later date.
More photos available in the November 14 Decorah Leader.
Submit A Comment
Fill out the form to submit a comment. All comments require approval by our staff before it is displayed on the website.