MLHS, area residents honor service, sacrifice, loyalty during Veterans Day 2016
With a sincere salute, Mountain Lake Public High School (MLHS) and others honored the service, sacrifice and national loyalty of those men and woman who completed military duty during a Veterans Day 2016 recognition on Thursday morning, November 10. (School is not in session tomorrow – Friday, November 11 – the actual Veterans Day date.)
Keynote speaker was Dan Suess of Butterfield, a veteran himself having served both at home and abroad with the United States Army and United States Army Reserve.
Introducing Suess were his twin son and daughter, Meredith and Jacob Suess, MLHS seniors. Suess spoke at an earlier Veterans Day program when his children were third-graders.
Suess used his time as speaker to introduce information via a “Q & A” format.
During active duty, Suess was a cook. He joined the Army as a high school senior at age 17 under a delay-entry program. He left for basic training shortly following his high school graduation. After almost 25 years, she retired from the Army Reserve at age 42 in 2007. Although retired, he could be called back into service if needed as part of Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). He followed his grandfather and uncle into the service, and some of his cousins, as well as his younger brother, have also performed military duty. One interesting family member that served was his great-aunt, who served in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) during World War II as a driver for the president.
Eleven years ago, Suess served an 11 1/2 month tour of duty in Kuwait, leaving behind his wife, Charlotte and seven-year-old twins. It was a three-day-and-out whirlwind from the time that he learned that he was being activated back into service, including breaking the news to his family – and his boss at Toro in Windom. Suess was three months from retirement when he was sent abroad.
While in Kuwait, the Sergeant First Class moved people in convey into and out of theater – into action off base as well as back to Camp Ali Al Salem. Recalling his time in the Middle East, Suess reflected that, over the course of those months, he experienced daytime temperatures reaching 140 degrees Fahrenheit – with nights “cooling” to 116°; served with other military personnel from 27 countries, including Australia, Japan and Uzbekistan – and, as one of the unfortunate circumstances of serving, missed weddings, birthdays, holidays, family gatherings and just a lot of time with his wife and children.
It took a great deal of adjustment on his return. “I had been used to being in charge of hundreds, thousands of people; I did not have a day off while in theater,” Suess reflected, “but back home,” his wife and children had organized their lives to move forward without him. “Charlotte (his wife) helped quite a lot with my re-adjustments.
“War will scar you in many ways you didn’t think were possible,” reflected Suess. “But, I always wanted to be able to do my part in a wartime situation, and I could retire feeling good knowing that I was able to do that.”
When Suess did return, the nature of his job specialty meant that he was the final person to debark the airplane. “I can’t explain the feeling when you finally see your wife and kids after all those months, and they come running to greet you.” They were a family back together again.
As a veteran, Suess would like to see citizens “practice their rights so that veterans, like me, see that the service they did and the time spent in theater – sometimes in fear and hurt, and pretty much always under stress – did not go to waste.
“Today, I am here to share with you that I am proud to be an American.”
Joining the Social Studies Department (Shawn Naas, Scott Boelke and Jessica Svehla) in presenting the program were members of Mountain Lake American Legion Post #389; Andrea Brinkman, Vocal Music Director and the Senior High Choir; Kurt Jahnke, Instrumental Music Director and the Senior High Band; Michelle Larson, MLHS Principal and additional participating MLHS students readers, Weston Osland and Jae Faber.
Posting of the colors and leading in the “Pledge of Allegiance” was by the American Legion Color Guard.
Principal Larson provided the welcome and opening remarks, as well as introduced the veterans attending the ceremony.
The High School Band, under Jahnke’s baton, shared “Success March,” by William Bennett; “The Message on the Rock,” by Robert Sheldon and “Remember,” by Melanie Donahue. “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “Goin’ Home” were the selections sung by the High School Choir, directed by Brinkman.
Osland and Faber, both juniors, presented a pair of readings. Osland shared “How Veterans Day Was Named,” and Faber read, “Our Heritage of Freedom.”
The program closed with “Taps,” played by Senior High Choir trumpet section members Kalley Rempel, Aaron Fast, Nathan Regier and Shadrick Hoek, all seniors; moment of silence and reflection and retiring of the colors by the American Legion Color Guard.
Following is a photo gallery from this morning’s veteran recognition:
