War And Unrest

Remembering the decade: At home and beyond (01/04/10)
Ten years ago, as the decade turned, we were waiting to see if the Y2K threat was real. While that turned out to be the biggest non-news event of the Aughts (the first decade of the 2000s), there was plenty of headline material to come, tragedy and triumph alike...

Your letters matter, soldier tells students (12/03/09)
After writing letters to a soldier in Afghanistan for months, elementary students at Gehlen Catholic School got to meet him face to face. Army Specialist Scott Tillman, of Le Mars, spent Wednesday afternoon speaking in classrooms a few days before returning for a second tour of duty in Afghanistan...

WWII Last Man's Club honors service to country (11/18/09)
More than 16 million Americans served in the military service during World War II. Last Friday members of the local World War II Last Man's Club gathered at the American Legion Club in Le Mars for their 12th annual banquet, sharing memories and remembering those who served their country in the European and Pacific Theaters as well as on the homefront...

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...

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...

Le Mars troops may head to Afghanistan (10/21/09)
More than 100 Iowa National Guard soldiers based in Le Mars may be packing their bags for Afghanistan next fall in the largest single unit call-up of the guard since World War II. Official word from the Department of Defense came Tuesday that about 3,500 Iowa National Guard soldiers are being alerted for potential mobilization to Afghanistan as part of a scheduled rotation of forces in fall 2010...

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...

Delivering more than fuel (07/24/09)
From the ground, all you might hear is the rumble of a jet engine. But 29,000 feet above you, a work of aerial art is taking place. Locked in a delicate ballet, a KC-135 tanker airplane is pumping thousands of gallons of fuel into a B-2 stealth bomber...

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...

Military coup causes upset in Honduras, Le Mars friends safe (07/01/09)
Le Mars Mission Honduras contacts living throughout the Central American country are safe and well following a military coup in the capital city Sunday said Dick Sievert, Le Mars Missions' director. Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was ousted from the national palace in Tegucigalpa for attempting to change the Honduran Constitution to apparently extend his time in office, according to the Associated Press...

Flags honor memory of fallen soldiers (05/26/09)
Pfc. Jack Brodie was the first Le Mars soldier to die in the Korean War. Tribute was paid to Brodie, a private first class in the United States Marine Corps, during The Avenue of Flags Memorial Day Program, at the Plymouth County Courthouse Monday. Brodie, who died at age 19, was the third casualty reported in Plymouth County in the Korean War...

Letters from war: WWII claimed Le Mars teen's life, his memory lives on (05/22/09)
Like any other 18-year-old, Norm DeJager liked talking about girls, basketball and cars. But the Le Mars teen's letters to buddy Lolan Cronin during World War II also talked about 15-mile hikes and gun training DeJager was going through in the U.S. Army...

A man, a stone, a story (05/18/09)
Dale Kunkel will never be able to tell his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren the stories of what he saw and how he served in World War II. But today a new stone marks his grave. It tells the story he cannot. On Friday, along with 50 family members and friends, Dale's sons, Ronald and Kenneth, placed a new grave marker on his grave in Calvary Cemetery in Le Mars...

Like father like daughter (05/07/09)
This week, Staff Sgt. Steve Dolph is heading to training for his third tour of duty in Iraq. His daughter, Morgan, a senior at Le Mars Community School, doesn't want to say goodbye. She wants to go with him. The only thing that's standing in her way: basic training...

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...

Remsen St. Mary's Hawks (7-21, 3-6) (11/20/08)
War Eagle Conference Standings All-War Eagle Conference Second Team Honorable Mention Team Statistics Individual Statistics Offense Total Kills Kills per GameAttack Efficiency Total Assists Assists per GameDefense Total Digs Digs per GameTotal Blocks^...

Veterans honored today (11/11/08)
Those who served, we salute you. Tuesday, Nov. 11, marks Veterans Day, a day to remember the sacrifice of many. President George W. Bush issued a proclamation in honor of the day: "From the fields and forests of war-torn Europe to the jungles of Southeast Asia, from the deserts of Iraq to the mountains of Afghanistan, brave patriots have protected our Nation's ideals, rescued millions from tyranny, and helped spread freedom around the globe."...

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...

Rush of young voters? Not so much (11/06/08)
It was all the rumble -- young voters were going to rock the 2008 general election. Turns out it was more of a nudge. According to national exit polls, about 18 percent of the voters Tuesday were under the age of 30. That's up only 1 percent from the 2004, 2000 and 1996 general elections, where 18-29 year olds made up about 17 percent...

Speakers urge local leaders to consider possible threats (10/01/08)
Maybe it will be an ice storm. Maybe a pandemic flu. Or maybe a terrorist strike with chemical weapons. Disaster is always on the horizon -- at least that was the message at a "Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail" videoconference that brought together local leaders from Le Mars and in six other states...

Negotiations begin on new Wells' Dairy labor contract (09/22/08)
Negotiations are underway on a contract that impacts about 1,400 hourly manufacturing employees at Wells' Dairy in Le Mars. "A corporate team is sitting down and meeting with an employee team," said Dave Smetter, spokesman for the ice cream and novelty company...

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. ...

Offices closed for Labor Day (08/29/08)
Americans will celebrate the country's 126th annual Labor Day, the three day-weekend that marks the unofficial end of summer. There will be several closings in Le Mars for the day. The first Labor Day was celebrated in New York City on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1882, after the Central Labor Union came up with the idea and planned a demonstration and picnic for that day...

Local National Guard unit helps fend off floodwater (06/16/08)
Fifty-five members of the local National Guard unit were working through the night this weekend to help hold back flood water in downtown Des Moines and Burlington. The group from Le Mars' C-Troop 113th Cavalry left Thursday to help sandbag near the rising Des Moines River. This weekend they were called to Burlington to help with sandbagging efforts along the swelling Mississippi River, and they are continuing with that effort this week...

Brunsville Area Veterans Memorial dedicated (05/27/08)
The sun shone brightly on Memorial Day 2008 and on the dedication of the Brunsville Area Veterans Memorial Monday morning. Just a year after the idea of a veterans memorial for Brunsville were first discussed, the memorial was put in place. Members of Brunsville Legion McHale-Heeren-Wilkens Post 724 put together the memorial, which stands across the street from the Legion Hall in downtown Brunsville...

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...

LCS students will compete state National History Day competition (04/24/08)
Le Mars Community Schools will send 11 students to the National History Day state competition in Des Moines on April 28. Forty-seven Le Mars Community Middle School students and one Le Mars Community High School student participated in the Northwest AEA National History Day district contest held on March 14, with the 11 chosen for advancement to the state competition...

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