July 4 Veterans Park celebration
The Fourth of July celebration at All Veterans Park in Staples will begin at 11 a.m. In case of rain, the celebration will be held at Faith Lutheran Church in Staples.
This year’s guest speaker is Vietnam Veteran Al Evans of Staples. Evans enlisted in the U.S. Air Force for a period of three years and reached the level of E6. His Fourth of July talk will be about “Pride in America.”
Huck Holst will emcee the event, Pastor Barry Klein will deliver the invocation, Deb Otteson will sing the National Anthem, the Motley American Legion Color Guard will conduct a 21-gun salute. Twenty-six commemorative pavers will be dedicated, as well as the new Bronze Sailor statue.
Guests are reminded to bring lawn chairs to the event. Following the program, there will be a meal catered by Bubba’s Grill & Catering of Verndale, serving chicken and beef (free will donation). Dilly bars will be supplied courtesy of the Staples Dairy Queen.
Paver dedication
The ceremony will also include a dedication of 26 granite paving stones engraved with the names of area veterans, including:
o E3 Boiler Tech, Wayne Berry, U.S. Navy Vietnam, USS Ticonderoga, Dec. 1970 - Dec. 1976
o SP4 James A. Carlson, U.S. Army, 1st Armored Division, 28 Dec. 1965 - 14 Dec. 1967
o Airman 1st Class, Lucas B. Crider, USAF, 6th Medical Group, Jan. 2024 - present
o Master Sgt., Matthew T. Crider, USAF Iraq Afghanistan, Visual Intelligence Analyst, Dec. 2003 - Dec. 2023
o Specialist, Billy J. Foster, U.S. Army Korea, Troop 13 - 14 ARC, Aug. 1967 - Aug. 1970
o PFC, Wilbur G. Foster, U.S. Army WWII, European Theater, April 1944 - Dec. 1945
o Commander, John M. Gorton, DDS, U.S. Public Health Service, July 1966 - Dec. 1968
o SP4, Bruce E. Hayenga, U.S. Army Germany, Company B 82nd Engineer Battalion, Nov. 1960 - Nov. 1963
o SP4, Richard L. Jensen, U.S. Army Vietnam War, Oct. 1967 - Oct. 1969
o SGT - E5, Raye A. Kalisch, U.S. Army Vietnam, COB 2-12th Infantry, 25th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division, 1969 - 1971, Bronze Star
o SP5 Dale C. Macho, U.S. Army Vietnam, May 1963 - June 1968
o Lt. Commander William I. Mennis, MD, U.S. Public Healt Service, June 1966 - June 1968
o Tech 4, Eldon J. Miller, Army WWII, May 1945 - Nov. 1946
o SP-E4, Jerome A. Nurnberger, U.S. Army Vietnam Era, 41st Infantry Battalion, 2nd Armored Division, 1962 - 1964
o CPL, Leroy J. Olmschenk, USMC, July 1962 - July 1965
o PFC, James Henry Richmond, U.S. Army WWII, POW Stalag 11b Fallingbostel, Sept. 1942 - Mar. 1944, POW, Purple Heart
o AMH1, Petty Officer 1st Class, Dayton E. Rosevink, USN Vietnam, Fighter Squadron 114, Feb. 1958 - Aug. 1976
o PFC, Donald L. Rosevink, U.S. Army Korea, COI 35th Infantry Regiment, Nov. 1949 - Sept. 1950, KIA, Purple Heart, Silver Star
o SGT, Gordon V. Rosevink, U.S. Army Korea, Paratrooper 326 Airborne, Engineer Battalion, Aug. 1953 - Sept. 1960
o SMSGT, Melvin J. Rosevink, Army WWII Gliderman, Apr. 1943 - Jan. 1946, USAF WWII Korea, Vietnam, Oct. 1946 - Jan. 1985, Purple Heart
o PFC, Rudolph E. Rosevink, USAF Korea, July 1947 - Nov. 1952
o Hospital Corpsman, Andrew M. Schmidt, HM2, USN, USMC, 1976 - 1980
o Private, Fred N. Tracy, U.S. Army WWI, France, 1916 - 1918
o Specialist, Glen M. Vogel, U.S. Army, National Guard, Mar. 1988 - Feb. 1994
o S/AGT, Harold J. Vogel, U.S. Army WWII, European Theater, June 1942 - Dec. 1945, Bronze Star
o SP-4, Larry Wettstein, U.S. Army, Mar. 1965 - Apr. 1967
