Veterans

The young face of Veteran's Day: Sitzmann shares story (11/11/09)
Curtis Sitzmann, of Le Mars, remembers when he was a child thinking that veterans were older guys. "I'm only 22," the Army National Guard member said Monday at the Le Mars armory where he was helping clean up after a weekend of training. But the young soldier is already a veteran...

Korean War vets remember wartime experiences (11/10/09)
Members of the Korean War Last Man's Club, along with family and friends, gathered in friendship and remembrance for the club's 12th annual banquet Saturday, Nov. 7. The group honored two members who died since the last meeting. They are Willard Herman, who died Dec. 11, 2008, and Norman Lang, who died July 25, 2009...

Supervisors leave veterans' office alone (11/04/09)
Veteran affairs will remain in the Plymouth County Courthouse. The Plymouth County Supervisors determined that Tuesday as they continued to study the layout of a proposed courthouse annex building. Supervisor Craig Anderson wanted to know if his fellow board members were done talking about whether to leave the veteran affairs office in the courthouse...

Brig. Gen. Jack Nicholson awarded Silver Star for action in Vietnam (10/30/09)
Dec. 27, 1963 had already been a devastating day. Of the 240 men then-Capt. John "Jack" Nicholson was with, only 39 were able to walk away from an eight-hour battle with the Viet Cong. But for Nicholson, the night wasn't over. He would lead his men to save the lives of nine people...

Hiemstra touched by displays of support for Honor Fight vets (10/30/09)
(Editor's note: This is the second in a pair of stories of local veterans who traveled on the most recent Siouxland Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.) One hundred eight World War II veterans from the Siouxland area participated in the third Siouxland Honor Flight Oct. 13, to Washington, D.C., including several Plymouth County residents...

Peters appreciates Honor Flight experiences (10/29/09)
(Editor's note: This is the first in a pair of stories of local veterans who traveled on the most recent Siouxland Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.) One hundred eight World War II veterans from the Siouxland area participated in the third Siouxland Honor Flight Oct. 13, to Washington, D.C., including several Plymouth County residents...

Supervisors map out space in annex building (10/28/09)
The Plymouth County Supervisors Tuesday studied the most recent floor plan for a proposed courthouse annex building. Supervisor Craig Anderson explained various aspects pertaining to the preliminary rough drawing as he is the go-between for the supervisors and the architect on the project...

New ruling gives county green light on annex building (10/23/09)
The Le Mars Board of Zoning Adjustment reversed its earlier decision Thursday and approved variances allowing the county to move forward with plans to construct a courthouse annex building. Zoning board members voted 3-0 to approve a conditional use permit to build in a residential district and within 17 feet 9 inches off Fourth Avenue Southeast instead of 25 feet...

Schiltz calls Honor Fight guardian role rewarding (10/22/09)
As a guardian for World War II veterans on the Siouxland Honor Flight, Keith Schiltz, of Le Mars, was able to hear first-hand stories and memories of men who fought for freedom more than 60 years ago. The Honor Flight Oct. 13 took 108 World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., to view the World War II Memorial and other memorials in the area, and honor them for their military service...

Day, King thank soldiers, urge patriotism (10/19/09)
It was a good day to be a Siouxland soldier Saturday. Col. George "Bud" Day, America's most decorated living war veteran, spent the day pheasant hunting with soldiers from the 113th Cavalry in Le Mars and the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City, along with Rep. Steve King (R) in western Plymouth County...

Veteran takes serving beyond battle lines (09/29/09)
Jim Rolfes was just a teenage farm boy when he voluntarily enlisted in the Iowa National Guard. The experience changed his life. Today, the Le Mars man is the District 9 commander for the American Legion, heading up 8,200 members at 92 posts in 13 northwest Iowa counties...

Nicholson touts 4-H as important life experience (08/05/09)
A family reunion brought former Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson back to his hometown and an opportunity to visit the Plymouth County Fair last Friday. "I can't believe how much its grown. It's spectacular," Nicholson said during an interview at the 4-H Food Stand, indicating his last visit to the fair was about 10 years ago...

Balmer to retire after a decade of serving veterans (07/16/09)
Martin Balmer threw his hat into the ring 10 years ago and became Plymouth County Veteran Affairs' director. "I had retired from the Department of Energy and I was looking for a part-time job," Balmer said. "As a veteran, I thought maybe we could help more veterans."...

Operation Medical Libraries turns face toward home (07/14/09)
First Operation Medical Libraries worked to bring medical textbooks to physicians in need in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now the group's mission is a little closer to home -- the Le Mars Public Library. Members of Operation Medical Libraries are working to make books on post-traumatic stress disorder accessible to soldiers who have returned from war...

Red, white, blue: A thousand-flag thank you (07/06/09)
By his computer at home, Merlin Schipper has a picture he cut from a newspaper a few years ago. A woman carrying a water bucket stoops in a sloppy, rutted road. In the picture, the woman bends down to scoop a bucketful of muddy water to take home for her family to drink...

County Veteran Affairs office to offer more hours (06/12/09)
Changes are ahead for the county Veteran Affairs office. Jim Henrich, Plymouth County supervisor chairman, read a letter describing those new requirements to the board during its Tuesday meeting. Legislation passed this year requires Veteran Affairs offices to be open a certain number of days depending on the county's population...

Memorial Day services honor service men, women (05/22/09)
Plymouth County American Legion and V.F.W. posts will join with others across the United States in Memorial Day services Monday, May 25, to honor the U.S. men and women who served their country in military service with a special tribute to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country...

County helps pay Honor Flight ticket (04/08/09)
The Plymouth County Supervisors set aside money Tuesday to help send a World War II veteran on an Honor Flight. Honor Flights are special trips designed to take WWII veterans to see the memorial built in their honor in Washington D.C. The supervisors approved giving $474 from the county's community services account within the general fund to Siouxland Honor Flight...

Museum plans Pearl Harbor, WWII day (12/02/08)
It was a Sunday afternoon, Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor thrust the United States into the fighing of World War II. This Sunday, Dec. 7, the Plymouth County Historical Museum will host the program "Pearl Harbor, World War II Christmas Memories" at 2 p.m. in the museum's "Old Central" Gym in Le Mars...

WWII Last Man's Club members gather for 11th year (11/11/08)
The 11th annual banquet of the World War II Last Man's Club in Le Mars Saturday evening gave the veterans a chance to renew old acquaintances and quietly reflect on their wartime experiences. More than 70 veterans, spouses, family members and friends attended banquet, which is held annually in November close to the Nov. 11 Veterans Day observance...

WWII experience still vivid for Hart (11/06/08)
John Hart, of Le Mars -- like other veterans -- carries many memories and stories of his military service as a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II. In sharing those stories family members, friends and the community can better understand the sacrifice that U.S. service men and women make, in times of war and peace...

Courthouse shuffle begins (11/05/08)
The Plymouth County Supervisors took the first step Tuesday toward rearranging the courthouse to make more room for crowded offices. The main push was to make more room for the cramped Juvenile Court Services. The supervisors approved moving the Veterans Affairs office, currently on the main floor of the courthouse in the northeast corner, to the lower level. There that office will share the space with the Zoning and Sanitation offices, which are only used one day a week...

Reflecting on their sacrifice (09/19/08)
A single stone soldier stands at salute. Five black granite slabs, etched with veterans' names, mirror his reflection against the blue sky. After years of planning and work, the Remsen Veteran's Memorial was put up Tuesday in the cemetery on the west edge of Remsen. It will be dedicated in a 1 p.m. Sunday ceremony...

Siouxland veterans flown to memorial in D.C. (09/09/08)
The Honor Flight began as a flicker of light three years ago and has grown into a beacon, thanks to retired Air Force Captain Earl Morse of Springfield, Ohio. It was Morse who flew World War II veterans to see the Memorial, the latter of which was built, completed, and dedicated to them in May 2004. ...

It's 'fair or bust' for the Ludwig family (07/14/08)
(Editor's note: This is the first in a series of stories about families preparing for the upcoming Plymouth County Fair) In less than two weeks the Ludwig's family van will journey to the Plymouth County fairgrounds filled with 4-H baked goods, dogs, a homemade hurdle and coffee table, plus the five Ludwig children and a kitten, if there's room...

American Legion Auxiliary announce winners of Poppy Poster Contest (05/21/08)
Sixth grade students at Gehlen Catholic School showed their support of veterans of all wars by participating in the American Legion Auxiliary's annual Poppy Poster contest. Poppy Week is usually observed as the week that ends on the Saturday before Memorial Day. However, Gehlen Catholic sixth graders learned about it earlier as part of a unit on good poster design in art class in preparation for the American Legion Auxiliary Poppy Poster Contest, under the direction of Beth Schlichte...

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