Morris: Military

(NEW SITE)

News Update September 2004: Local National Guard Deploying

Morris' along with other south-west central area Minnesota's National Guard will be deploying soon for duty in Iraq. First, they will be getting trained in a base in New Jersey for a month or so. Then they plan to deploy to Iraq for more than a year. Please pray for the 500+ National Guards for their safety and also their family at home.

151st Charley Morris' National Guard Send Off Ceremony

Yesterday-Saturday, September 18th of 2004; there was a unique day of events honoring our local National Guard as they deploy to Fort Dix-New Jersey for special Military Police Training in mid-October and then head to Iraq later on. The first event of the day I somewhat miss (miscommunication) was the flag service at local Dairy Queen (known for getting magnet ribbons: "God Bless U.S.A", "Support the Troops", etc...) @1:30p. Then the local Hancock/Morris Band performed some patriotic songs around 3:30p before the Ceremony started @4:00pm at UMM's P.E. Center. The Ceremony consisted of speeches from distinguished figures (academic, local government, military officials, etc..)-including a rare visit by our very own Minnesota Governor-Tom Pawlenty and his wife. First Lady Pawlenty shared about Military Family Care Initiative Online, which neighbors can help support (finanical, hospitality, prayer, etc...) military familys and local National Guard Soldiers.

I attended this day's activities to show my support as an active community leader and citizen. I didn't know any of the local service men/women personally, but I did know some of their family's personally. I also wanted to be present after attending last week's Morris Leadership Retreat, who I met some community leaders that shared their heart about this deployment.

After the long touching and informative Ceremony, the community was invited to a Community Supper (hamburgers, pork chops, cole-slaw, baked potatoes, cake, etc...) at the Lee Community Center. There was a long line as many people from the commmunity showed their support. The National Guard and their families ate first, which is why we had to wait in line for 30 minutes.

The evening ended with a local dance at the National Guard Armory, which was a time for fun and to spend quality time with the local National Guard.

After this day, I reflected on how it was awesome and encouraging to see the community come together for this occassion. Also, I had some personal reflections on the mission of Operation Freedom. As Governor Pawlenty shared reminding us the freedom and blessings we have as Americans, he shared the main mission of Operation Freedom Iraq. Also, I personally believe we should not only "Pray for the Troops", but also "Pray for Iraq" and "Pray for Our So-Called Enemies" (as the Bible teaches us). The Ceremony echoed that we should not forget our fellow National Guardsmen/women as they are in duty over there as we continue our daily lives here. I hope to get a local group to regularly pray for the soldiers and help meet their familys' needs. Also, we do this for them from the first day to the last day of their time there. If you are with this, please feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].

Departure from Morris-Thursday, October 13th

I heard that the troops from the Morris National Guard headed off Thursday morning (10/13/04) around 6:00am. The community of Morris is invited to line-up along Atlantic Avenue as there will be a police (w/flashling lights) escort parade of the bus carrying the National Guard-starting from the Coburn's Parking Lot thru Cenex South on Hwy 28 W. They are going to Ortonville, which they plan to board a bus to a nearby airport to be flown to Fort Dix, NJ. I had to work this morning, which they were in my thoughts in prayers while I was at work. I had the privilege to meet another parents of a soldier that left earlier this week, which became more personal to me living in Morris.

Remembering Our Soldiers/Troops/Men or Women Serving

One of the important lines from the military "send off" ceremony/service awhile back is to "not forget them" during our day to day lives, so this e-mail forward (from a Blandin Leadership Retreat 04' participant) is a good reflection...

Reccomended Resources

LOCAL

  • Goodnews UMM: LA Military, educational perspective

  • Join Hands Day, help wrap shoe box gifts to be mailed to American Soldiers overseas at the Morris American Legion
  • ">Personal Site on Wars, my first site I made before this one honoring/praying for soldiers since "Operation Freedom"

    • Articles

  • Bush calls 10 service members on holiday Thu Nov 23, 12:31 PM ET (yahoo news)

    • "The president spoke with two members each from the Army, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard and Navy, said White House spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo. He asked them to send greetings to their parents...
    Spc. Joseph Casey, Army, deployed to Kamdesh village, Nuristan Province, Afghanistan , a member of the 71st Cavalry Squadron, 10th Mountain Division. As a gunner and scout, he maintains $1 million worth of equipment, including advanced optics grenade launchers. Parents' hometown, Cokato, Minn.
    Related Links:
    North County Times
    KFAQ: Tulsa Talk Radio

    Afer finding the above articles, I decided to e-mail Joe...
    Hi Joe,
    "This is Sal-Morris, Minnesota! I just wanted to see how you are doing after hearing your name recently ( Thursday, November 24th) on the local news (WCCO-TV). They mentioned you about having the opportunity to talk to the President-wow! When I first heard your name and then the hometown of Cokato, I then said to myself "I know that guy"! You are in my thoughts and prayers!"
    Brother in Christ praying for you,
    Sal:)

    If you would like to write to the local Charlie Company:

    Last name, first, mi, rank
    C Co 1-151 FA
    CPA
    APO AE 09316

    Ways to support or men and women in Iraq:

    From : Jessica
    Reply-To : UMM Blandin Community Leadership Program
    Sent : Friday, January 21, 2005 11:29 AM
    To :
    Subject : Way to support local troops and their families

    Here is a way to support our local troops and their families:

    Is your vehicle full of salt and grime? Take it to Beyer's Car Wash located on east 7th street in Morris (across from the Salvation Army). Craig and Jessica Beyer, owners of Beyer's Laundromat and Car Wash, have teamed up with Hometown Solutions, to provide a (two year) high speed Internet connection equipped with a web cam for our troops serving in Iraq and their families. This connection, located at the Morris Armory, will allow the troops and their families to see and talk to each other face to face. You can help by washing your vehicles at Beyer's Car Wash located on East 7th street in Morris. 25% of the proceeds will be donated to help provide this internet service. So wash your dirty vehicles and help support our troops!

    Western Minnesota Fallen Soldiers Tribute

    I found out about the sad news Monday evening when my co-worker came in to work at 10pm at the group home. I wasn't sure who it was, so I went to prayer Tuesday and prayed for whoever it was with folks from my local church. No one knew the names until the local news reported it starting at 11am till the evening. When I went to pick a youth I mentor at Chokio-Alberta High School on Tuesday afternoon, I noticed the KARE-11 News helicopter in the Morris Airport. I knew then that a Morris casualty has been known to the media. I would later find out the names of the "fallen soldiers" when I watched the 5 o'clock news on KSTP...

  • Morris soldier killed in Iraq Tom Larson, Editor of Morris Sun Tribune (02/23/2005)

    • "A Morris National Guard soldier was among three Minnesota troops killed by a road-side bomb in Iraq on Monday.
    Staff Sgt. David Day, of Morris, a member of the Company C 151st Field Artillery unit, was killed, along with Jesse Lhotka, of Appleton, and 1st Lt. Jason Timmerman, of Tracy, according to Jeff Gay, of National Guard Family Assistance, based in Montevideo.
    Lhotka�s rank was not immediately known.
    A family member at the Day residence told the Sun Tribune Tuesday afternoon that the family appreciated the community�s concern, but was not prepared to make any statements.
    In an Associated Press report, Day�s grandmother, LaVonne Day, said the family was told that Day was checking on an overturned Humvee when a roadside bomb went off, killing him. The military reported three soldiers were killed Monday in Baghdad by a roadside bomb as they were evacuating a fellow soldier, though it couldn't immediately be confirmed whether those three were the Minnesota soldiers.
    ``This Humvee was on its side, tipped over, and he went over to see if anybody was hurt when it blew up,'' LaVonne Day told the Associated Press. ``He was going to help. That would be David, that would be exactly him.''
    LaVonne Day told the AP that her grandson worked as a police officer in St. Louis Park, and married his high school sweetheart just before he was deployed in the fall.
    ``He bought her a brand new car and the diamonds, and he said, 'Now I want you to be taken care of.' They were together for about four or five days'' before he deployed, she said.
    Carmen Brunsvold, who leads a Marshall-based Guard support group, told the Independent of Marshall that she spent Monday evening with Timmerman's parents, Gary and Pat Timmerman.
    Lhotka's death was confirmed by his grandmother, Arvilla Lhotka of Waconia. Arvilla Lhotka said her grandson lived in Appleton with his wife. They were just married in September, the AP reported.
    Day was part of 151st Field Artillery based in Montevideo, which includes units from Marshall, Olivia, Morris, Ortonville, Appleton, and Madison.
    The unit had been trained for security missions at Fort Dix, N.J., before its deployment to Iraq in December.
    Members of Charlie Company performed security duties during the Iraqi elections late last month.
    About 330 members of the 151st mobilized in October for a deployment set to last 12 months to 18 months, said Guard spokesman Maj. Kevin Olson.
    More than 2,000 Minnesota Guard soldiers and airmen are deployed in Iraq and seven other countries, Olson said.
    Before Monday, 13 Minnesota service members had died in military operations in Iraq.

  • Minnesota remembers three National Guard soldiers killed in Iraq, from KSTP

    • "Minnesota is mourning the deaths of three National Guard members killed in Iraq.
    Gov. Tim Pawlenty ordered the U.S. and state of Minnesota flags flown at half-staff at the state Capitol until sunset on the final day of burial for the three soldiers.
    The governor's proclamation says the fallen soldiers are heroes, and their service is deeply appreciated.
    Staff Sgt. David Day, 25, of St. Louis Park; First Lt. Jason Timmerman, 24, of Tracy; and sgt. Jesse Lhotka, 24, of Alexandria died died Monday in Baghdad in a roadside bomb blast. All were members of the Montevideo-based 151st Field Artillery.
    It was the bloodiest day for Minnesota soldiers since the Vietnam War -- and the worst day for the state since combat began in Iraq in 2003.
    At the Legislature Tuesday, the House acknowledged the soldiers' deaths with a moment of silence.

  • Family, Friends Remember Minnesota�s Latest War Dead, KARE 11 (watched this good coverage of Morris on the 10 o'clock news)

    • "Three Minnesotans from the same rural National Guard unit died in Iraq, apparently when a bomb detonated as they aided an injured comrade. It was the bloodiest day for Minnesota soldiers since the Vietnam War.
    Family members and friends identified the men as Staff Sgt. David Day, 25, of St. Louis Park; 1st Lt. Jason Timmerman, 24, of Tracy, and Sgt. Jesse Lhotka, 24, of Alexandria.
    To see KARE 11�s reports on the short lives of these men, click on their names above.
    All were members of the Montevideo-based 151st Field Artillery. Two of them married in the fall, just before they left for New Jersey on their way to Iraq.
    The Defense Department, citing policy on family notification, wouldn't confirm the identities. But the only casualty report for incidents Monday in Baghdad listed three soldiers killed and eight wounded when a roadside bomb detonated about 8 a.m. while an injured soldier was being cared for. That soldier had been injured in a convoy accident caused by a civilian vehicle, the Defense Department said.
    "My husband was a hero. Before he died he saved two other men's lives and I'm thankful for that," Stacey Lhotka told KSTP-TV. She said she was glad he was saving lives, but "he was a hero before he left this house."
    LaVonne Day, David Day's grandmother, said the family was told that Day was checking on an overturned Humvee when a roadside bomb went off, killing him.
    "This Humvee was on its side, tipped over, and he went over to see if anybody was hurt when it blew up," she said. "He was going to help. That would be David, that would be exactly him."
    LaVonne Day said her grandson originally was from Morris. He worked as a police officer in St. Louis Park, and married his high school sweetheart, Amy, just before he was deployed in the fall, she said.
    "He bought her a brand new car and the diamonds, and he said 'Now I want you to be taken care of.' They were together for about four or five days" before he deployed, she said.
    St. Louis Park Police Chief John D. Luse said he wished Day the best before his deployment.
    "I shook his hand and I wished him the best and I told him I was proud of him," Luse said.
    Luse described Day as an honest, hardworking young man, with an infectious personality.
    "He is the kind of kid that police chiefs dream of hiring," Luse said. "He's a can-do young man. ... His work ethic just overwhelmed us."
    An American flag flew at half-staff at the Timmerman farm outside Marshall. Timmerman's father, Gary, answered a knock at his front door but declined to comment. About a half-dozen cars filled the driveway as friends streamed in to offer support.
    Jason Timmerman was a high school math and computer teacher at Lake Benton Public School last year, Principal William Delaney said. While Delaney himself didn't know Timmerman -- this is his first year with the district -- he said students and staff said Timmerman had a "zeal for learning and helping students learn."
    "Many times they mentioned they'd got one of their own over in Iraq," Delaney said.
    In Cottonwood, where Timmerman went to high school, grocery store owner Jim Munson called Timmerman's death "a gut-check." He said his own son, Josh, also serves in the 151st but in a different area of Iraq.
    "I'm waiting to call my wife after our noon rush, because I know she's going to break down," Munson told the Independent of Marshall.
    Timmerman's younger brother, Travis, is also serving in the Guard in Iraq, Rep. Marty Seifert of Marshall said.
    Arvilla Lhotka said her grandson and his wife were married in September.
    Lhotka graduated from Lac qui Parle Valley High School in Madison in 1999 and from St. Cloud State University in 2004 with a degree in finance. Superintendent Robert Munsterman told the West Central Tribune of Willmar that Lhotka made a trip back to the school a couple of years ago to tell his former teachers he made sergeant.
    "He was very proud of what he had accomplished with the National Guard," Munsterman said.
    Mike Halvorson, a friend of Lhotka, told the St. Cloud Times: "He always made you laugh. He was never in a crabby mood, just a fun guy. ... He was just always happy and saw a bright side to everything."
    In Appleton, where Lhotka was from, about three dozen people gathered in the basement of the Appleton Armory to make yellow ribbons to tie on trees and fences.
    The 151st Field Artillery, based in Montevideo, includes units from Marshall, Olivia, Morris, Ortonville, Appleton, and Madison. About 330 members of the 151st mobilized in the fall for a deployment set to last 12 months to 18 months, said Guard spokesman Maj. Kevin Olson.
    More than 2,000 Minnesota Guard soldiers and airmen are deployed in Iraq and seven other countries, Olson said.
    Before Monday, 13 Minnesota service members had died in military operations in Iraq.
    At the Legislature, the House acknowledged the soldiers' deaths with a moment of silence before their afternoon session.
    "It's events like this that we remember that all have given some but some have given all," said Rep. Torrey Westrom, R-Elbow Lake.
    Monday's deaths made it easily the worst day for the state since combat began in Iraq in 2003. During Vietnam, Minnesota lost multiple soldiers on several days, including nine on May 5, 1968, according to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
    By Joshua Freed, Associated Press Writer
    (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
    Last Updated: 2/23/2005 6:36:19 AM

    David Day: A police officer always there to help you Richard Meryhew and Jim Adams, Star Tribune
    February 23, 2005 DAY0223

    MORRIS, MINN. -- Sandy Thorstad's heart sank when her son-in-law stopped by the house late Monday and broke the news. Three National Guardsmen from western Minnesota had been killed in Iraq, he told her, and one of the victims was rumored to be a hometown boy: Staff Sgt. David Day.
    Thorstad, a local florist, turned on the radio and TV, "but there was nothing on the news."
    Anxious, she drove by the house where Day grew up and where his parents still live. "There was a ton of cars there," she said softly, "so I knew."
    By Tuesday afternoon, most of the city's 5,100 people knew it, too. Day, an Eagle Scout who left home to become a cop in St. Louis Park, was dead. For many, the news was difficult to comprehend.
    "It's like there really is a war out there," Thorstad said, "and it really can happen to the guy next door."
    David DayCourtesy KstpAt the home of Day's parents, David and Vicki Day, relatives and friends gathered to offer support. On the sidewalk sat a planter with two U.S. flags stuck in the dirt. Several roses and a ribbon lay nearby.
    The family issued a statement to thank people for their support. "Right now they would appreciate some quiet time without media interruption," Stevens County Sheriff Randy Willis said.
    While family members consoled one another, a community comforted itself with memories:
    Sgt. Day 4 days before his death.Of Day the boy, who played Little League baseball and loved to skateboard and worked his way up to Eagle Scout.
    Of Day the teenager, who worked in the produce section at the grocery store and successfully led an effort to overturn a ban on driving snowmobiles to school.
    Of Day the character, who enjoyed a good joke or a story.
    After graduating from Morris Area High School in 1998, Day, the youngest of three children, attended vocational school in Alexandria and spent summers working as a community service officer in Morris.
    "He was one of those people everybody loved," said Jim Beauregard, the city's police chief. "He was always there to help you and help anybody else."
    Before Day's National Guard unit shipped out in October, Day proposed to and married his longtime girlfriend, Amy Gulbrandson, who grew up in the nearby town of Donnelly.
    The story goes that when he proposed, Day gave Gulbrandson a car -- and a surprise.
    "She thought she was getting a car, and then she opened the glove box and found an engagement ring," said John Luse, St. Louis Park's police chief.
    Day and others in his unit, which included about 40 members from around Morris, kept in touch with Joan Donovan's fourth-graders via e-mails.
    On Tuesday, Donovan teared up as a counselor told the Morris Area Elementary School students what happened. At day's end, she found a note from a student on her desk.
    "Dear Mrs. Donovan," the student wrote, "I know you'll get through this today."
    Inside St. Louis Park police headquarters, officers wore black strips across their badges. Day was a patrolman for less than a year before his Guard unit was sent to Iraq. As a community service officer in 2002, he worked his way up doing mundane jobs -- writing parking tickets and going after stray dogs. "He had an extraordinary work ethic," Luse said.
    Said Robin Day, an aunt who lives in Howard Lake, Minn.: "He's a great kid and always has been a favorite person of a lot of people. He was a great advocate for justice and honesty and really a man who was loved."

    Staff writer Chuck Haga contributed to this report. Richard Meryhew and Jim Adams can be reached at [email protected].

    Holiday

    -Memorial Day Service @9am-10:30am
    I finally had the chance to attend my first memorial service. I've been always working during this time, which I was able to make it this year (Monday, May 26th of 2008)

    Singing of the "" at the "Concert Hall" at the Morris Elementary School

    "Memorial Procession"

    Getting ready to march to the Cemetary-Rifle Team

    Getting ready to march to the Cemetary-Flag Bearers

    Marching to the cemetary

    During the procession, I decided to walk with my bike with a small group behind the flag bearers and rifle team. I reminincsed my time joining the NJROTC back in my high school in St. Paul with a lady I've known in town during the procession. She ended up sharing her dad's experience in Normandy and Battle of the Bulge. The walk was very cold and windy, but the sharing of our WWII stories (my Filipino story) helped it go fast and meaningful!

    "Cemetary Service"



    Shooting of the rifles

    It was a gloomy, cloudy, windy, "Fall-like" weather this morning. It kind of helped one really mourn and remember our "fallen soldiers" or "war victims".

    LTD tour: Clemons moves on but never forgets Judy Olson, Appleton Press, Morris Sun Tribune Published Wednesday, July 16, 2008
    "Kortney Clemons was by their side when they died. And now he wants to meet their families.
    �I want to let their families know that I haven�t forgotten about them,� said the medic and Iraq war veteran in a telephone interview this past week.
    Clemons lost his leg that February day in Baghdad when Sgt.
    Jesse Lhotka, 1st Lt. Jason Timmerman and Staff Sgt. David Day lost their lives.
    �I was with them. I was standing within feet of their sons,� the army medic stated. �I want to let them know their sons didn�t suffer.�
    Sgt. First Class Chad Turner was also there. �There was a humvee roll-over and two of our guys were thrown out,� he said, explaining the initial incident of Feb. 21, 2005 in great detail, as if it happened yesterday.
    �Our guys were assessing injuries when Kortney�s crew came across the accident on the other side of the guardrails.� Turner said.
    Clemons� crew assisted in moving the gurney, carrying a wounded soldier across the guardrail to the Blackhawk. As the team rested the gurney on the guardrail when they crossed over, the bomb detonated.
    �Everything happened so fast,� said Clemons, who lost his right leg. The team member in front of Clemons on the left side of the gurney sustained a shattered leg. The front man, the air vac medic, received minor injuries.
    �Our three guys were on the right side,� said Turner, who was about 15 yards away, near the tail end of the Blackhawk in the opposite direction of the bomb. �You just go numb and let your training take hold.�
    When Clemons woke up, he was 2,000 miles away in a U.S. military hospital in Germany. He could only see one foot poking up under his blankets.
    �When I was in the hospital, I thought I must have done something really bad in my life to deserve this,� Clemons told a USA Today reporter. �I went over everything that had happened to me, searching for a reason why God would want to take my leg.�
    �I came to the realization that He did this for a reason. He wanted me to make something more of myself. I had to lose my leg to find the real me.�
    Now, nearly 3-1/2 years later, at the LTD Memorial Tour, Clemons is anxious o meet the other American soldiers whose lives crossed with his for a few fateful moments in Iraq.
    �I had never met these guys before in my life,� Clemons said. �It was just meant to happen that way.�
    Turner said that all of the soldiers who were part of the Baghdad incident were from the Appleton, Morris and Ortonville area, including Dan Perseke, who was the mission leader.
    The LTD Memorial Tour will be the first time Clemons will see those soldiers since Feb. 21, 2005.
    �The last time I saw Kortne,y he was on his back,� on a gurney, stated Turner. �I was slapping him to keep him awake.�
    Even after pushing himself to adjust to life with one leg, Clemons struggled with his new challenge until an Army-sponsored trip to Pennsylvania State University. The Ability Athletics Program opened a new door.
    Penn State Coach Teri Jordan said, �God allows us to go through another door if we take that opportunity.�
    Clemons saw the open door and ran right through it � literally.
    The trip to Penn State opened a door of athleticism, pride and self- esteem for Clemons. His fight and confidence returned as he lifted the bar on the weight machine. His dreams of athletic achievement were within reach.
    He was fitted with a specially designed prosthetic �sprinter leg� and began to push his strength, speed and commitment to the test.
    On July 1, 2006, Clemons was running the 100-meter dash at the U.S. Paralympics Track and Field National Championships in Atlanta. Not only did he compete, he won.
    He is the first Iraq veteran to qualify for a Paralympics national championship.
    He left his leg in Iraq, but not his drive. Clemons continued accept every opportunity that came his way. �I tried to the best of my ability to take advantage of every opportunity,� he said.
    He continued to develop as an athlete, setting his goal to be a member of Team USA at the Paralympics in Beijing.
    �There are a lot of guys who have come back from Iraq like me,� he said. �I want them to look at those records and see what is possible.�
    Four weeks ago Clemons gave it his best shot at the trials.
    �I won all my events,� Clemons said, but he went on to explain that winning isn�t enough. Qualifications are based on times and the number of slots awarded to each team. He would not be going to the Beijing games as a member of the USA Team.
    �I did the best I could on that day. It�s not the end,� he said. �I have a lot of stuff going on.�
    Clemons is currently completing his internship at San Diego Sports Foundation, working in Adaptive Physical Education.
    Just last week his book, �Amped,� was released. His personal story of challenges and achievements is available on Amazon.com.
    Clemons writes of the day he met a National Guard unit of soldiers from western Minnesota. The one day of his life in Iraq that changedhis world forever.
    �I didn�t know who they were until I wrote the book and talked with Chad Turner,� said Clemons.
    The Army medic, athlete and role model is anxious to meet the surviving families. �I was so close to coming back to the states like their sons.�
    His voice softened.
    �I know their sons would do the same thing.�
    The young Mississippi man joined the Army with an ambition to become a pharmacist. Clemons� trip to Minnesota and his LTD Memorial Ride as Guest of Honor will become part of a documentary on Clemons being produced by a California television station. The TV crew will be following Clemons as the ride leaves Montevideo, continues on through several cities, including Morris, and concludes in Appleton Saturday afternoon.
    �I still have an opportunity to move forward.�"

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